Cablegate: Pa Seeks Us Support for Wto Observership

VZCZCXRO9012
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1607 2471419
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 041419Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5981
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0184
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001607

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; EEB FOR EEB/TPP; NSC FOR
SHAPIRO/KUMAR; DEPT PASS TO USTR, JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN
SELVA, TREASURY FOR KNOWLES
USMISSION GENEVA FOR USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD EAID KWBG PREL IS OVIP
SUBJECT: PA SEEKS US SUPPORT FOR WTO OBSERVERSHIP

1. (U) This is an action request. Please see para 6.

2. (SBU) Summary: The PA will seek full WTO Observer status
prior to the WTO's October Ministerial, according to
officials at the Ministry of National Economy (MoNE). The
PA's decision to pursue observer status has been taken at the
ministerial level, they said, and reflected the PA's desire
to build the institutions of statehood and to force needed
reforms at home. PA officials plan to announce the request
formally to the diplomatic community in Ramallah on September
15 and to travel to Geneva on September 21 to present their
case to WTO missions. Minister Khoury requested active US
support for the PA's request. End summary.

PA Seeks WTO Observer Status, Followed by Membership
--------------------------------------------- -------

3. (SBU) In a meeting on September 3, PA Minister of National
Economy Bassim Khoury and MoNE Senior Advisor Saad Khatib
told EconOffs the PA will seek full WTO observer status, "as
part of the process of accession," prior to the October
meeting of the WTO. Khoury said this decision was taken by
the Council of Ministers, with the support of PA President
Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Khoury said that the MoNE and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs will invite diplomatic
representatives to Ramallah on September 15 to announce
formally the PA's intention and to request international
support. He will then travel to Geneva on September 21 to
meet with WTO officials and missions.

4. (SBU) Khatib said Palestine is legally eligible to join
the WTO, as the Paris Protocol recognized it as a separate
customs territory, and established a customs union between
the PA and GOI. He pointed to the PA's observer status at
the 2005 Ministerial in Hong Kong as an indicator that the PA
meets the definition of a separate customs territory, and
noted the purpose of observer status is to help prepare a
government for eventual membership. (Khatib passed EconOffs
a background paper developed by the PA to promote their
candidacy for observer status. A copy can be found on the
ConGen's unclassified intelink site:
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/pal econ/.)

"WTO Accession is the Best Reform Strategy"
--------------------------------------------

5. (SBU) Khatib said the PA's commitment to prepare for
statehood is a strong motivating factor for this request. He
noted that the discipline imposed by the WTO process will
help drive and streamline the PA's own legal, regulatory, and
institutional reform efforts. Furthermore, he noted,
Palestinian economic development hinges largely on its
successful integration into the world trading system.

6. (SBU) Action request: Post requests Department guidance
on how to respond to the PA's request for support. The PA's
request appears to complement USG support for Palestinian
institution-building and for the PA's economic reform agenda.
Within the legal requirements of the WTO, ConGen recommends
the fullest possible support for the PA's request.
MARCHESE

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