VZCZCXRO4144
PP RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #1149/01 3351503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011503Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1513
INFO RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 4243

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 MADRID 001149 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
S/P FOR G.BEHRMAN 
S/SRMC FOR K.CHANDLER 
R FOR S.NOOR-ALI 
EUR/PPD FOR L.MCMANIS 
BARCELONA FOR G.CROUCH 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIAD PREL SOCI XF XI ZR ZP CN PU MV SO SP
SUBJECT: MISSION SPAIN NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL 
ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT 
 
REF: STATE 112468 
 
SBU - ENTIRE TEXT 
 
¶1.  In response to taskings set out in reftel, Post's Muslim 
Engagement Working Group canvassed a wide range of contacts to 
solicit qualified nominees for the Entrepreneurship Summit. 
The Working Group was enlarged to include representatives of 
PAS, ECON, POL, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (USCS), and 
other Mission elements, including Consulate Barcelona (by 
conference call). 
 
¶2.  The Muslim communities in Spain maintain a relatively low 
profile.  Most of Spain's Muslims are manual laborers from 
Northern Africa (especially from Morocco) and Sub-Saharan 
Africa who have come to Spain to seek jobs.  Many of the 
Muslims residing in Catalonia and down the eastern coast to 
Valencia have family ties to Pakistan and South Asia. 
Identifying candidates who fit the particular profile of the 
Summit has been challenging given the diverse populations, 
especially since the majority reside in areas where the Embassy 
has limited contact. Mission outreach has therefore 
concentrated on immigrant and Muslim communities through social 
and cultural organizations. 
 
¶3.  NOMINATIONS The Mission has identified six strong, 
potential candidates, listed below in alphabetical order. We 
request that the Department inform the Mission of any pre- 
selection of Spain's nominees for the Summit prior to the 
nominees being contacted by Washington. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
(A) SAMIRA BRIGUECH 
Directora General 
Samira & Sineb Consultores Agencia de Marketing y Relaciones 
Publicas 
Madrid 
E-mail: samira@samira.es 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Background: 
A businesswoman of Moroccan origin, Mrs. Briguech has shown by 
example that she understands the challenges of promoting a 
culture of entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic 
opportunity.  She has received many awards for her leadership 
and entrepreneurial skills; she particularly values her awards 
from Spain's Federation of Women CEOs and Business 
Leaders (Fedepe), the Association of Young Entrepreneurs, 
and CEOE (the largest employer organization in Spain). 
Over 13 years ago, she founded Samira & Sineb, a public 
relations and marketing agency, starting with a capital 
of only $10,000.  Since that time, she has dedicated her 
efforts to creating a strong, stable, and competent team of 25 
employees, building the top ranked public relations agency in 
technology and information sectors.  Her principal clients 
include Orange, Symantec, Oracle, BT, and Hewlett Packard. 
 
Mrs. Briguech also serves as Vice President of the Association 
of Young Entrepreneurs and the Federation of Young 
Businesswomen of Madrid.  These leadership organizations 
gave her insights into how she could start up and manage 
her own company.  She is now giving back to these 
organizations by actively supporting youth programs creating and 
supporting entrepreneur networks, and promoting the 
education, training and mentoring of future entrepreneurs. 
Mrs. Briguech has also created the Adelias Foundation, 
putting into practice her belief that her company 
must follow socially responsible practices. 
Within her company she has built a value system of 
social responsibility, setting aside 2% of company sales for 
benevolent causes. The foundation's work centers principally on 
Morocco, due its proximity to Spain and because of the 
significant lack of health and educational resources 
available.  In addition to providing educational materials for 
blind children to learn Braille, this foundation currently 
carries out projects for children with meningitis, and learning 
disabilities.  She is also working together with other 
organizations, supporting efforts to create a neonatal unit in 
a hospital, financed with support of Farmaceuticos sin 
Fronteras (Pharmacists Without Borders).  Mrs. Briguech is also 
board member of the Fundacisn ROSE Caja Mediterrneo, where she 
is also involved with corporate social responsibility and 
environmental initiatives. 
 
She is married to the Senior Commerce Foreign Service employee. 
 
MADRID 00001149  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
Justification: 
Samira Briguech would be an excellent participant in the 
Presidential Summit on Leadership given her experience as an 
entrepreneur and role model, her willingness to mentor and 
teach entrepreneurship to youth, and her visionary work in 
establishing and supporting foundations that are advancing 
mutual understanding in Muslim communities within Spain and 
Morocco. She is a dynamic, intelligent person who is 
a role model for other entrepreneurs, both in her capacity 
as a business owner, and also as a mentor in the youth 
leadership organizations and non-profit organizations she 
actively supports and manages.  Her involvement in bringing 
Spain and Morocco closer together through benevolent causes is 
widely admired and is helping to bridge cultural differences. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
(B) KHALID CHAKRANE BACHTIRI 
Managing Director 
Moroccan Attijariwafa Bank at Madrid 
President of ATLAS 
Association for Relief to Moroccan Youth Centers 
e-mail: atps2003@terra.es 
--------------------------------------------- 
Background: 
As President of the ATLAS Association, Khalid is responsible 
for bringing humanitarian relief to juvenile centers in 
Morocco. To that effect, he mobilizes human resources, promotes 
fund-raising among Spaniards and Moroccan immigrants in Spain, 
and coordinates the logistics of the relief expeditions.  In 
the last two years, he has organized five humanitarian aid 
convoys for the juvenile centers of Tangier, Chaouen, Rabat, 
Fez and Sefrou. 
 
As managing director of the Madrid branch of the Moroccan 
Attijariwafa Bank, Khalid is building a broad network of 
Moroccan depositors, facilitating immigrant transfers of 
money to Morocco, and advising potential Spanish investors on 
the best investment choices in Northern Morocco. This last 
responsibility, directly related to the economic development of 
North Africa, is Khalid's most promising facet. In a few years, 
he may be promoted to an influential position in the Moroccan- 
Spanish Consortium of Entrepreneurs and Investors. 
 
Justification: 
Khalid has an inquisitive spirit that surely will enable him 
quickly to adopt American institutional strategies for building 
a transparent framework of open markets between Spain and 
Morocco, facilitating the transfer of technology 
through "revolving door" immigration, promoting the economic 
integration of immigrants into the mainstream, and channeling 
Spanish investments in the fishery business and the 
exploitation of renewable energies. 
 
As a participant in the radio program Vecinos del Sur, 
broadcast by Cadena SER, the radio station with the largest 
audience in Spain, Khalid is a young Muslim opinion leader able 
to reach large segments of the Islamic community in Spain. His 
participation in the Washington Summit on Entrepreneurship will 
contribute significantly to fostering dialogue between Islam 
and the West, building a bridge between the economies of Spain 
and North Africa, and neutralizing the effects of radical Islam 
in both regions. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
(C) MOHAMED EL IDRISSI EL ALOUANI EL BOUAANANI 
Entrepreneur in the real estate sector 
President of the Cultural Association of Friendship and 
Cooperation between Catalonia and Morocco 
Blanes, Girona 
E-mail: finquesblanda@telefonica.net 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Background: 
Born in Morocco in 1958 and a Spanish citizen, Mr. El Idrissi 
is a prominent entrepreneur and businessman in the Spanish 
region of Girona and President of the Cultural Association of 
Friendship and Cooperation between Catalonia and Morocco. He 
has an undergraduate degree in Commerce and owns a real estate 
agency in the town of Blanes (north of Barcelona). He is an 
influential figure of the business community in the region of 
Girona and a member of the local Socialist Party. He has been 
highly recommended by Mohammed Chaib, a Member of Parliament 
and former IVLP grantee. 
 
MADRID 00001149  003 OF 005 
 
 
 
He is also a member of the board of the Euro Arab Center of 
Catalonia, an organization that promotes cooperation, dialogue 
and mutual understanding in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Its 
main goal is to facilitate the participation of 
members of civil society of Arab origin in Catalonia in 
the 'Union for the Mediterranean.'  The Euro-Mediterranean 
Partnership, formerly known as the Barcelona Process, was re- 
launched in 2008 as the 'Union for the Mediterranean', with its 
Secretariat based in Barcelona. The Partnership now includes 
all 27 member states of the European Union, along with 16 
partners across the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East. 
This is an innovative alliance that seeks to create a 
Mediterranean region of peace, security, and shared economic 
prosperity. 
 
Justification: 
Mr. Mohamed El Idrissi is a respected entrepreneur who is 
actively engaged with Muslim communities outside the city 
of Barcelona. His energy and dedication to promote economic 
opportunities and job creation in the Euro Mediterranean 
region, place him in a unique position as a strong interlocutor 
of the Moroccan business community in Catalonia. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
(D)  HUMA JAMSHED 
Businesswoman 
President of the Cultural and Educational Association of 
Pakistani Women (ACESOP) 
Barcelona 
E-mail: humajamshed4@yahoo.es 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Background: 
Born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1966 and a resident in Spain since 
1997, Ms. Jamshed is a businesswoman and president of the 
Cultural and Educational Association of Pakistani Women 
(ACESOP) in Barcelona. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the 
Complutense University of Madrid. She and her husband run 
a travel agency and she devotes a lot of her time to the ACESOP, 
an association she founded in 2005. This non-profit association 
reaches out to the women of the Pakistani community in 
Barcelona, which numbers more than 35,000, and is the largest 
in Spain. The purpose of the association is to promote the 
integration of Pakistani women through the organization of 
workshops, courses, cultural activities, and advising services 
on legal and business matters. She is also the vice president 
of Barcelona's Council for Immigration. 
 
Ms. Jamshed is one of post's good contacts; as President of 
ACESOP, she first participated in a post program when Farah 
Pandith, Special Advisor to the Asst. Secretary of State for 
Europe and Eurasia, came to Barcelona in April 2007. Since 
then, she has attended many post programs and receptions, and 
participated in a Vienna conference on "Muslims and the West: 
Living together - but how?" organized by the NGO Women without 
Borders in collaboration with the US Embassy in Vienna and the 
US Mission to the European Union in October 2007. In FY09 she 
was an IV grantee. Ms. Jamshed participated in a Single Country 
Project on "Effective Community Organizing for Minorities." 
 
Justification: 
Huma Jamshed is a well-known leader of the Muslim community in 
Barcelona, particularly among Pakistanis, which is 
especially relevant in this part of Spain. Her participation in 
the Summit will give her new ideas in entrepreneurial 
leadership and will undoubtedly enrich her views and provide 
effective strategies that she can adapt and develop locally. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
(E)  MAHDI MOHAMED-SALEH RASHID 
Deputy Director General 
For the Spanish Sacyr Vallehermoso Corporation in Libya 
e-mail: msaleh@gruposyv.com 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Background: 
Born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1955, Mahdi Mohamed-Saleh 
actively resisted the Ba'ath Political Party of Saddam 
Hussein. For this reason, he was not accepted by the Baghdad 
University and went to Beirut to study Philosophy and Arabic 
Literature. Returning to Baghdad, Mahdi found that all 
opportunities for professional advancement were closed to him 
by the Government political party. So he decided to go into 
exile in Spain, where he has resided since 1977.  For the past 
five years, Mahdi Mohamed-Saleh has served as Deputy Director 
 
MADRID 00001149  004 OF 005 
 
 
General of the Spanish entrepreneurial holding Sacyr Vallermoso 
with responsibility for its operations in Libya.  He has 
exercised the following functions: 
-- Responsible for the international business development 
operations of Sacyr Vallehermoso corporation in North Africa. 
-- To identify and secure for the Spanish holding company, on a 
competitive basis, contracts of public works projects such as 
airports, ports, highways, infrastructure. 
-- To play a key role in the negotiation of contracts with 
clients, primarily Libyan Government authorities. 
-- To follow up on the execution of the contracts by both 
parties. 
-- To advise the Spanish corporation Sacyr Vallermoso on the 
viability of their investments in the Arab countries of North 
Africa. 
 
Justification: 
Mahdi Mohamed-Saleh Rashid has the ability to speak three 
languages, Arabic, Spanish, and English. Integrated in the 
Spanish way of life, he has not forgotten his native roots. 
Mahdi is a perfect bicultural liaison between Islamic 
countries and the West. From his position in the international 
holding company Sacyr Vallermoso, Mahdi is a priceless asset in 
the dialogue between Islam and the West on such crucial issues 
as the transfer of technology, investment for development, 
professional training of native workers and the creation of 
jobs.  Mahdi obtained his Ph.D. in Political Science from the 
Catholic University of Salamanca in Spain six month ago, having 
written his doctoral dissertation on the political thought of 
Ib Khaldun, a XIV century Arab historian born in Damascus who 
lived in Seville, Spain, and explained the evolution of 
Arab countries in very critical and dialectic terms.  Like Ib 
Khaldun in the fourteenth century, Mahdi Mohamed-Saleh contends 
that Muslim countries today have the opportunity to be part get 
of the global economy without losing any of their 
cultural identity. This is one of the conclusions of his 
doctoral thesis. 
 
------------------------------------- 
(F)  ISABEL ROMERO ARIAS 
Director General 
Halal Institute 
Cordoba 
e-mail:  iromero@alcavia.net 
------------------------------------- 
Background: 
Ms. Romero was born in Madrid in 1957, and has lived in Csrdoba 
since 1981.  She converted to Islam in 2003. Since then she has 
been very active in the community as Project Director at the 
Islamic Federation of Spain (FERRI), a spokesperson at the 
Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE), and in 1998 became the 
founder and promoter of the Halal Institute.  Her previous 
experience has been in the marketing and business sector. 
 
The Halal Institute in Spain is a non-profit organization 
created by the Islamic Board, which is responsible for -- and 
signatory of -- the Cooperation Agreements between Muslims and 
the Spanish national government.  It is responsible for 
regulating and certifying Halal products and services aimed at 
Muslims and has now certified more than one hundred companies, 
which it supports and advises, especially in exportation. 
 
The Institute is a member of the I.H.I Alliance, an 
international association that promotes the establishment of a 
World Halal Standard (Malaysia is among the countries most 
supportive of the Alliance).  Last February they created the 
European Association for the same purpose, with ten European 
certifying entities as founders.  In the first quarter of 2010, 
they will celebrate the first consultative meeting to create a 
similar association that promotes Latin-American standards. 
They will invite to this meeting the two leading U.S. 
organizations, IFANCA and ISNA, together with some Canadian 
organizations, to participate in this meeting. 
 
Justification: 
The Halal Institute has been able to develop an accreditation 
standard that is a unique model in Europe and has been legally 
registered as a guaranteed brand based on certification by the 
Spanish Ministry of Agriculture in 2003. Thanks to this Halal 
certificate, Spanish companies are able to sell their products 
in more than 30 countries, and the door is now open to all 
countries with majority Muslim populations.  Ms. Romero's 
experiences could bring unique insights and contribute 
significantly to Summit debates. 
 
MADRID 00001149  005 OF 005 
 
 
 
Chacon