VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKH #2794 3390806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050806Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5491

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002794 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR OBO - GEN WILLIAMS FROM CHARGE HUME 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ABLD AMGT ASEC PREL US SU
SUBJECT:  KHARTOUM NEC - STATUS OF CONTAINERS 
 
REF:  State 193481 
 
¶1. (SBU) On December 4, CDA Hume met with the Deputy Director for 
the Americas at the MFA to raise the need for action by the Sudanese 
government to release construction materials for the New Embassy 
Compound (NEC) from customs at Port Sudan.  OBO Project Executive 
Albertson and Management Counselor Whitaker accompanied.  Embassy 
Khartoum had previously raised this issue through established MFA 
channels, but the Ministry of Finance recently had returned the 
documentation to employees of the contractor's customs facilitator 
since the signature was no longer valid.  The previous director of 
customs and shipping had been re-assigned, invalidating his 
signature on the form.  Hume emphasized the importance of this 
project and the need for importation of materials for it to proceed 
smoothly.  He further stated that if this continued to be a problem, 
the project might be cancelled. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In response, Deputy Director of the Americas desk said he 
would provide assistance to resolve the issue.  Upon receipt of 
another set of the required documentation, he would personally get 
the needed signatures from MFA officials, and was of the view that 
in that case, action by the Ministry of Finance would be routine. 
However, he noted that there were some special procedures for the 
importation of steel re-bar, cement, and ceramic tiles, which did 
not appear to be involved in this case.  The approval by the MFA 
will release the containers to the contractor as diplomatic cargo. 
In the event his own efforts did not resolve the matter, he said he 
would bring it to the attention of Under Secretary Mutriff Saddiq, 
who would return to the office in two days. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Although this may pave the way for the release of the 10 
containers now at stake; Embassy Khartoum will stay involved with 
this matter. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  Although the odds are in our favor to resolve 
this matter and eventually to achieve timely clearance of other 
shipments, bilateral relations are under stress, and lower-level 
officials often make simple transactions difficult.  In this case, 
the exclusion from the United States of a senior level official who 
normally deals with bilateral matters (State Minister Ali Karti) has 
complicated our ability to navigate the shoals of the MFA 
bureaucracy.  End comment. 
HUME