US embassy cable - 05MANAMA1484

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001484 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NEA FOR PDAS CHENEY, DAS CARPENTER, ARPI, PI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, PHUM, KMPI, KPAO, BA 
SUBJECT: MFA CONVENES G-8 TO DISCUSS FORUM FOR THE FUTURE, 
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified;  please protect accordingly.  Not 
for Internet distribution. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) The MFA convened G-8 Ambassadors and Charges October 
7 to outline Forum for the Future (Forum) conference plans 
and discuss support for the Center for Entrepreneurial 
Excellence in Bahrain (CEEB).  MFA Assistant Under Secretary 
for Coordination and Follow Up and meeting chair Shaikh 
Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa said it would be important 
to showcase tangible results during the Forum and cited the 
CEEB as a good example.  The MFA will seek financial support 
for the CEEB at a November 11 pledge meeting.  Shaikh 
Abdulaziz said the GOB supports the activities of a parallel 
forum organized by regional civil society representatives 
within predetermined parameters.  Foreign Minister Khalid bin 
Ahmed Al Khalifa will host a dinner for foreign ministers 
(FMs) the evening of November 11, with the Ministerial itself 
to be held on November 12.  End Summary. 
 
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THREE SESSIONS OUTLINED 
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2. (U) MFA Assistant Under Secretary Shaikh Abdulaziz bin 
Mubarak Al-Khalifa and Director of Bilateral Relations Dr. 
Dhafer Alumran chaired a meeting of G-8 Ambassadors and 
Charges October 7 to discuss planning for the Forum for the 
Future.  Shaikh Abdulaziz said the main session of the Forum 
would be comprised of three programs covering G-8/BMENA 
initiatives, civil society initiatives and the Democracy 
Assistance Dialogue. 
 
3. (U) Shaikh Abdulaziz noted that of the seven G-8/BMENA 
initiatives identified in Rabat, four have progressed to the 
point of having reportable findings.  He noted that each of 
these have an education component.  The initiatives are: 
Education Systems and Schools (sponsored by Jordan with 
cooperation from Egypt), Vocational Training (sponsored by 
Jordan, Japan and Germany), Entrepreneurship (adopted by 
Bahrain and Morocco) and Combating Illiteracy (sponsored by 
Afghanistan and Algeria). 
 
4. (U) The civil society initiatives include: Women's 
Empowerment and Employment (October 1-2 Bahrain-sponsored 
forum hosted by Bahrain University), Combating Corruption 
(September 26-27 U.K.-sponsored forum conducted by 
Transparency International in Beirut), Rule of Law (September 
27-28 U.S.-sponsored forum conducted by the American Bar 
Association), and Human Rights (tentative November 7-8 
Qatar-sponsored forum).  The Democracy Assistance Dialogue 
session (sponsored by Italy, Yemen and Turkey) would provide 
a fuller picture of the reform that needs to take place in 
the BMENA region.  Shaikh Abdulaziz said that there was 
currently no set time to discuss the Fund and Foundation for 
the Future, and suggested they would be announced at the end 
of the meeting on November 12th. 
 
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CEEB 
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5. (U) Shaikh Abdulaziz said that the success of the Forum 
would rise or fall on the strength of what is reported in the 
session findings, and emphasized that it would be important 
to point to tangible achievements.  He said the CEEB 
represented a real opportunity to showcase a G-8 achievement. 
 
6. (U) CEEB Executive Advisor David Mosby briefed on the 
status of the Center and requested broader G-8 
participation/contributions.  The UK Ambassador announced 
that the Global Opportunities Fund would support the center, 
though details were still unclear. 
 
7. (U) In a separate October 11 meeting, Alumran told 
Pol/Econ Chief that the GOB would hold a pledge meeting for 
the CEEB to take place at the Forum conference November 11 at 
the deputies level. 
 
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PARALLEL FORUM ADDRESSED 
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8. (U) Shaikh Abdulaziz said that an MFA steering committee 
had decided in May that the GOB would facilitate a parallel 
forum for civil society representatives on the conditions 
that the topics not duplicate those already being addressed 
in the Forum, and that the topics be consistent with the 
regional scope adopted by the Forum.  It was also decided 
that participants represent registered NGOs in their home 
countries. 
 
9. (SBU) Shaikh Abdulaziz said civil society officials 
planning the parallel forum had indicated that the topics 
they intend to address are Women and Politics and the 
Modernization of Islam. 
 
MONROE