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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000358 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016 
TAGS: PREL ETRD PHUM KNNP PTER OVIP KDEM KPAL BA REGION OFFICIALS BILAT
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MARCH 7 MEETING WITH DEPUTY PRIME 
MINISTER SHAIKH MOHAMMED BIN MUBARAK 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) The Ambassador and Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh 
Mohammed bin Mubarak March 7 discussed Crown Prince Salman's 
upcoming visit to Washington, elections in Bahrain, 
trafficking in persons, and the anti-terrorism law.  During 
his March 19-21 visit, the CP will discuss the U.S.-Bahrain 
Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Iran, Hamas, and Iraq.  On Iran, 
Shaikh Mohammed said he had met with Iranian Deputy Foreign 
Minister Mostafawi earlier in the week and told him that Iran 
must abide by IAEA instructions.  Shaikh Mohammed said Hamas 
had sent messages to the GOB about its interest in visiting 
Manama.  If Hamas comes, the GOB will state its support for 
President Abbas and will call on Hamas to respect previous 
agreements.  On Iraq, Shaikh Mohammed said there needs to be 
give-and-take at each stage of the process, but politicians 
are not showing much interest in compromise.  He praised 
developments in Bahrain's political environment and said he 
would push for progress in trafficking-in-persons and passage 
of the anti-terrorism law.  End Summary. 
 
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Taking Advantage of FTA 
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¶2.  (C) The Ambassador met with Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh 
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa March 7 and discussed Crown 
Prince Salman's upcoming visit to Washington, the FTA, Iran, 
Hamas, Iraq, elections, trafficking in persons, and 
counter-terrorism, among other issues.  Shaikh Mohammed 
confirmed that the CP will be in Washington March 19-21 and 
told the Ambassador that the CP would want to discuss ways to 
encourage business people to take advantage of the FTA, as 
well as Iran, Hamas, and Iraq.  He said that Commerce 
Secretary Gutierrez's February 26-28 visit to Bahrain served 
 
SIPDIS 
to focus attention on the agreement, and the challenge now 
was to make it work.  He acknowledged that Bahrain still had 
to complete implementing legislation, all related to 
intellectual property rights, and said that the Cabinet had 
transferred six IPR laws to parliament during its meeting 
March 5. 
 
¶3.  (C) Shaikh Mohammed said that Dubai had surged ahead in 
attracting foreign investment, but Bahrain hoped to use the 
FTA to gain additional investment.  He said the Crown Prince 
would soon lay the cornerstone for an auto assembly plant in 
Bahrain.  The government was dealing seriously with the 
unemployment problem.  The Labor Minister was reaching out to 
the unemployed and encouraging them to participate in the 
national employment program.  This was new for Bahrain, where 
traditionally the citizens came to the government to make 
requests.  Shaikh Mohammed was proud that unemployment was no 
longer a divisive issue in society due to the government's 
efforts on the employment program. 
 
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No Plans for King Visit to Iran 
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¶4.  (C) Shaikh Mohammed said the CP would also discuss Iran 
during his Washington visit.  He noted that he had met with 
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Mostafawi earlier in 
the week.  Mostafawi delivered an invitation from President 
Ahmadi-Nejad to King Hamad to visit Tehran.  Shaikh Mohammed 
told the Ambassador that the King had no plans to visit Iran 
at this time. 
 
¶5.  (C) Shaikh Mohammed said he had raised the nuclear 
program with Mostafawi.  Bahrain's view is that each country 
has the right to develop nuclear technology but no country 
should develop nuclear weapons.  He asserted that the IAEA 
would be the judge of Iran's program and advised that Iran 
use "its wisdom" and be very careful to follow IAEA 
instructions.  Mostafawi responded that Iran was not 
developing a weapons program and would not be forced to rely 
upon other countries for uranium enrichment.  Shaikh Mohammed 
told the Ambassador that Iran would be very close to 
producing weapons after uranium enrichment and could "do 
whatever it likes" at that time.  He said the issue will 
develop and escalate further because, in his opinion, Iran 
will not back down. 
 
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Hamas Wants to Come Calling 
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¶6.  (C) Shaikh Mohammed said that Hamas had sent messages to 
the GOB that it wants to visit Bahrain.  If Hamas 
representatives come, the government would use the visit to 
deliver its position directly to the group.  The GCC had 
issued a recent statement supporting Palestinian President 
Abbas and calling on the Legislative Council to respect 
previous agreements.  Hamas officials had already visited 
Qatar and now they want to call on the other GCC countries. 
 
¶7.  (C) The Deputy PM said that Israel and the Palestinians 
were now "stuck."  Neither side is trying to make progress. 
Israel should do more than just make pronouncements about 
what Hamas must do.  Israel is killing people in the street 
these days, and this serves only to further radicalize 
Palestinians.  During his visit to Bahrain last week, 
Egyptian President Mubarak talked about developing a unified 
Arab front to encourage both Hamas and Israel to take steps 
in the right direction.  Bahrain benefits from peace, and 
pays a price when there are problems between Israelis and 
Palestinians. 
 
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Dangerous Direction in Iraq 
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¶8.  (C) Turning to Iraq, Shaikh Mohammed said events were 
moving in a dangerous direction.  National interests should 
come first, not group interests.  Democracy requires 
give-and-take at each stage, and Iraqis are not showing much 
interest in compromise.  He stated that Jaafari speaks well 
but did not accomplish much as prime minister.  The Kurds 
have turned against him and Pachachi is speaking out against 
him.  Vice President Abdul Mahdi would be a better 
alternative. 
 
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Elections, TIP, Anti-Terror Law 
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¶9.  (C) Moving to domestic affairs, Shaikh Mohammed said it 
appeared that the political societies that had boycotted the 
parliamentary elections in 2002 would participate in the 
elections later this year.  Although they complained about 
the parliament, they now see that it works and plays an 
important, effective role.  Parliament completed a thorough 
review of the budget last year, something that happens only 
in Bahrain and Kuwait in the Arab world.  He said that the 
municipal councils are also growing into their role. 
 
¶10.  (C) The Ambassador told the Deputy PM that the USG was 
working on the annual trafficking-in-persons report.  We had 
expected more action by the Bahrainis on a shelter for 
distressed foreign workers and legislation criminalizing 
trafficking.  Shaikh Mohammed was aware of the work of the 
interministerial committee on trafficking and said he would 
push the committee to make progress. 
 
¶11.  (C) The Ambassador expressed concern that the 
anti-terrorism law was still stuck at parliament.  There was 
a great need for a conspiracy law in Bahrain.  Terrorists 
need to be arrested when they are still in the planning 
stages of an attack, not after they carry it out.  Shaikh 
Mohammed agreed and said he would share our concerns with the 
Cabinet.  He said that Bahrain would not wait for something 
bad to happen before moving against terrorists.  Bahrain 
appreciates USG support and know-how in combating terrorism. 
 
MONROE