US embassy cable - 05CAIRO6877

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006877 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015 
TAGS: OVIP, PREL, PGOV, EG, IS, KPAL, KWBG, IZ, OREP 
SUBJECT: VISIT OF CODEL DAVIS TO EGYPT, SEPTEMBER 2-5: 
MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER NAZIF 
 
Classified by DCM Stuart E. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Prime Minister Nazif told visiting members of 
Congress that Egypt's September 7 presidential elections 
represent major milestone in Egypt's democratic development. 
He said that the GOE could not overrule the independent 
electoral commission's decision to bar outside observers from 
the polls.  Nazif highlighted Egypt's economic reforms and 
pressed for a rapid start to free trade agreement 
negotiations.  He urged that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza be 
followed with substantial material help for the Palestinians 
and pressed for Iraq's Sunnis to be given "another chance" to 
join the democratic process.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U) House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis 
(R-VA) met Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif at the latter's Smart 
Village office on September 4.  Chairman Davis was 
accompanied by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Rep. Al Wynn (D-MD), 
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and 
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL), the Ambassador, the DCM, 
Congressional staffers John Cuaderes, Ron Martinson, and 
Frederick Hill, and ECPO notetaker.  Attending the meeting on 
the Egyptian side were Trade and Industry Minister Rachid 
Rachid, Nazif Chief of Staff Sami Saad Zaghloul, Spokesman 
Magdy Rady and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for the 
Americas Ambassador Aly Hefny. 
 
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Economics and Assistance 
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3.  (SBU) The meeting opened with mutual expressions of 
condolence, with Nazif offering assistance in the wake of 
Hurricane Katrina and members of the CODEL presenting a copy 
of the House resolution condemning the July 23 terror attack 
in Sharm el Sheikh.  Nazif highlighted his 14-month-old 
government's economic reform efforts, specifically pointing 
to corporate tax cuts, new customs rules and a more 
investor-friendly bureaucracy.  He noted that the U.S. is 
Egypt's most important trade partner, and pressed hard for 
announcement of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations to 
deepen the commercial relationship.  Nazif dismissed 
criticism of U.S. assistance.  He made a particularly strong 
push for continued military assistance, arguing that such aid 
is "essential for stability, confidence, and to combat 
terror." 
 
4.  (SBU) Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid added that an 
FTA would both reinforce the GOE's reform efforts and draw 
foreign investment.  While recognizing how difficult it had 
been to get Congressional approval of CAFTA, Rachid said that 
he had gotten strong statements of support for an Egypt FTA 
from USTR Portman and other Administration officials during 
his recent visit to Washington.  He pressed for the 
Administration to let Congress know within two months of its 
intention to start FTA negotiations.  Rachid also noted that 
450 Egyptian companies were benefitting from the Qualifying 
Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement with Israel. 
 
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Regional Issues 
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5.  (C) It is important, Nazif said, that Palestinians 
understand that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza is the start of 
a process, not the end of one.  After noting the efforts 
Egypt had made to facilitate Israel's withdrawal, Nazif 
emphasized that Gazans must see material benefits from the 
withdrawal, particularly economic benefits, to give 
Palestinians a stake in the process. 
 
6.  (C) Nazif described Iraq as "a chicken and egg problem:" 
security is needed for democracy to take root, but only if 
the democratic experiment succeeds will those who are 
currently causing instability be persuaded to forego 
violence.  Nazif warned that Iraq could "disintegrate," and 
urged the USG to be inclusive and give the Sunnis another 
chance to join the political process.  Rep. Issa argued that 
previous Egyptian promises to be helpful on Iraq had not led 
anywhere and he pressed the GOE to urge other Arab leaders to 
offer concrete help during the upcoming U.N. meeting on Iraq. 
 
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Democracy 
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7.  (C) Nazif called the CODEL's attention to "big changes" 
on Egypt's domestic political scene.  He noted that this is 
the first time Egypt's president has ever been in a 
multi-candidate race and argued that all candidates are 
getting equal time in state media.  He described the 
presidential election as Egypt's first step towards 
democracy, not its last, and said that Egypt needed to get 
more political parties and more women into parliament.  Most 
importantly, Nazif added, Egypt wants a peaceful and stable 
democratic transition. 
8.  (C) Rep. Issa expressed strong concern that the GOE's 
resistance to independent election observers was interfering 
with what was otherwise an important democratic step forward 
and urged the GOE leadership to speak out publicly in support 
of independent observers.  Nazif replied that he himself 
favored observers, as did many in the government, but he 
claimed that Egypt's judges feared observers would interfere 
with the judges' role as guarantors of a free ballot.  He 
also deflected blame towards the Presidential Election 
Commission (PEC), which was blocking observer access to 
polling places.  Nazif claimed that the PEC was independent 
and could not be overruled.  The GOE, he said, was doing 
everything in its authority to assist observers, ordering the 
Ministry of Information to disseminate widely information on 
the location of polling places and the Ministry of Interior 
(responsible for security at the polls) to permit observers 
to come as close to the polls as the PEC will allow. 
 
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Women's Rights and Credit Where It's Due 
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9.  (SBU) Rep. Maloney called Nazif's attention to press 
reporting of a murder case in which a judge overturned an 
appropriately harsh sentence and sentenced a man who murdered 
his wife to only three years in prison.  She noted that an 
effective legal system was essential to attract foreign 
investment and that reporting on the case raised questions 
about the system's integrity.  Nazif admitted that he was not 
familiar with the specific case cited but promised to look 
into it. 
 
10.  (SBU) Rep. Chabot recalled that, during a visit to Egypt 
with Representative Wexler at the beginning of the year, he 
had asked the GOE for three things:  an active Egyptian role 
in the peace process, return of the Egyptian ambassador to 
Israel, and competitive elections.  He expressed satisfaction 
that the GOE had replied positively on all three steps.  Rep. 
Wynn added that the CODEL members had discussed starting an 
Egypt caucus in the House, a proposal which drew a very 
positive response from Nazif. 
 
11.  (U) CODEL Davis did not have an opportunity to clear 
this message before departing Cairo. 
 
 
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