This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000562 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD TBIO
SUBJECT: FY 2006 FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY OUTREACH 
- PROPOSAL: IMPLEMENTING THE CARTEGENA PROTOCOL 
 
REF: 05 STATE 233448 
 
Sensitive but unclassified. Please handle accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Post proposes a two-fold program that 
targets both regulators and the Egyptian public to build on 
past and current public outreach programs and focus on 
breaking the regulatory logjam that currently impedes the 
introduction of biotech products in Egypt.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Egypt is at a crucial point with regard to biotech 
regulation.  The Ministry of Environment (MOE) has come to 
dominate the interministerial committee drafting biotech 
legislation.  The MOE has been subjected to lobbying by 
anti-biotech NGOs, and has become a major obstacle to 
implementing science-based biotech regulations.  The Ministry 
of Agriculture, on the other hand, has demonstrated a keen 
interest in promoting biotech products to benefit Egyptian 
farmers. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) To promote U.S. biotech interests, post proposes a 
two-fold program that targets both regulators and the 
Egyptian public.  First, regulators from Egypt would travel 
to the United States to work with their counterparts in the 
Department of Agriculture, the State Department, the Food and 
Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency 
for hands-on experience with regulatory drafting. 
 
¶4.  (U) The second part would consist of a public outreach 
program in Egypt to present a workshop on implementing the 
Cartagena Protocol, using the examples of other developing 
nations, such as India and China, that have successfully 
implemented the necessary regulations. 
 
---------- 
Background 
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¶5.  (SBU) Egypt can benefit from biotech if changes to 
Egyptian law are implemented, allowing Egyptian farmers to 
increase crop yield and reduce pesticide use.  Biotech cotton 
and maize are significantly improving farmers' yields and 
incomes in China, India, and the Philippines, while 
dramatically decreasing the use of insecticides.  Similar 
benefits could be realized in Egypt if the Government of 
Egypt would institute a regulatory system to authorize the 
commercialization of biotech crops.  In the 1990s, the 
Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) took the lead in developing 
Egypt's biotech regulations, but over the past few years the 
Ministry of Environment (MOE) has taken charge, and has 
drafted legislation that is more likely to hinder than 
facilitate the transfer of these promising technologies.  The 
MOA is now exploring avenues to increase its involvement. 
 
¶6.  (U) Last year, speaker Lawrence Kent, an Agricultural 
Policy Specialist at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. 
Louis, Missouri, conducted a tour of ministries, 
universities, and agricultural organizations in Egypt to 
advocate changes in Egyptian law to facilitate use of biotech 
products and to promote policies favoring the U.S. biotech 
industry.  Kent was also interviewed by Al-Ahram newspaper, 
and met with an NGO group.  Response to his visit was 
extremely positive. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) This year, the State Department's Senior Advisor 
for Agricultural Biotechnology, Madelyn Spirnak, will visit 
Egypt in February to support of a science-based approach to 
agricultural biotechnology and give a presentation on the 
"International Implications of Implementation of the 
Biosafety Protocol" at the ICARDA "Conference on Harnessing 
Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering for Agricultural 
Development in the Near East and North Africa (NENA)." 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In February, FAS/Cairo will host a Biotech 
Assessment Team from Washington that will assess the role of 
various ministries in the process to develop legislation to 
implement the Biosafety Protocol and develop a project 
proposal to establish a National Authority on Biotechnology 
in the Ministry of Agriculture. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Post believes that the travel to the U.S. by 
Egyptian biotech regulators would complement the above steps, 
and particularly the work of the Biotech Assessment Team, 
very well.  An exchange of regulators drafting the final 
version of the Biosafety regulations could be helpful in 
promoting both an understanding of science-based regulatory 
language as well as a better understanding of the democratic 
process itself.  We believe the best way to accomplish this 
is to expose Egyptian officials to the regulatory drafting 
process in the U.S. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) This project would be to expose Egyptian 
regulators to the roles played by U.S. agencies in the 
regulatory process, specifically with regard to the relevance 
of their specific expertise to the regulations being drafted, 
to emphasize that it is not in Egypt's interest to allow the 
MOE to dominate the drafting process.  We would follow this 
up with travel to Egypt by a U.S. official or private sector 
expert who could both advise Egyptian counterparts on proper 
regulation and speak publicly on the benefits of biotech. 
 
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Expenses 
-------- 
 
¶12.  (U) The proposed budget of the program would be as 
follows: 
 
Travel to Cairo 
Business class travel         $ 6,370.00 
Honorarium (if needed)        $ 1,600.00 
Lodging & per diem            $ 1,673.00 
Miscellaneous expenses        $   150.00 
Books/educational materials   $   150.00 
Total                         $ 9,943.00 
 
Per traveler to the United States 
Air travel                    $ 3,490.00 
Lodging & per diem            $ 1,890.00 
Total $5,380.00 x 10 =        $53,800.00 
 
Total cost:                   $63,743.00 
RICCIARDONE