VZCZCXRO6296
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDK #0823/01 1060659
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160659Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8076
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MCC WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000823 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/IL, INR/AA AND S/CPR 
LABOR FOR OSEC - BALMER 
NSC FOR AF SENIOR DIRECTOR PITTMAN 
AID/W FOR AFR/WA AND AFR/SD 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OVIP ELAB EAIR PGOV KMCA SG
SUBJECT: LABOR SECRETARY CHAO LEADS PRESIDENTIAL DELEGATION TO 
PRESIDENT WADE'S INAUGURATION 
 
DAKAR 00000823  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao led the presidential 
delegation to the second inauguration of Senegalese President 
Abdoulaye Wade, as well as the 47th anniversary celebration of 
Senegal's independence from France and related events.  During the 
April 3-5 festivities, Senegal hosted approximately 50 foreign 
delegations.  Each of the 15 members of the Economic Community of 
West African States (ECOWAS) sent a delegation, and many delegations 
came from much further afield.  In all, at least 20 heads of state 
and three heads of government attended.  They heard President Wade 
present his vision for Senegal and Africa's development, and they 
also heard Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi rail against colonialism. 
Secretary Chao's visit included a brief bilateral meeting with 
 
SIPDIS 
Qadhafi.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Senegal's Minister of Labor, Civil Service and Professional 
Organizations, Abdoulaye Babou, greeted Secretary of Labor Elaine L. 
Chao, in her capacity as head of the U.S. Presidential Delegation, 
upon her arrival in Senegal on April 3.  Other members of the 
official delegation included Ambassador Jacobs; the Honorable Louis 
Sullivan, former Secretary of Health and Human Services and 
President Emeritus of Morehouse College School of Medicine; the 
Honorable Bobby Pittman, Jr., Counselor to the President and Senior 
Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council; and 
Rear Admiral R. Timothy Ziemer, USN, Retired, Coordinator of the 
President's Malaria Initiative. 
 
PRESIDENT WADE'S INAUGURATION 
----------------------------- 
¶3.  On April 3, Secretary Chao joined approximately 25 heads of 
state and 25 other heads of delegation for the inauguration ceremony 
("Prestation du Serment") of President Abdoulaye Wade following his 
February 25 reelection.  The Heads of State included the Presidents 
of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the 
Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, 
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, 
Sierra Leone, and Togo.  The heads of government included the Prime 
Ministers of Ethiopia, Guinea and Morocco.  The Vice President of 
the French Senate was the most senior European; China sent Han Qide, 
the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's 
Congress; The Gambia sent its Vice President; and Laurent 
Dona-Fologo represented Cote d'Ivoire. 
 
¶4.  In his inaugural address, President Wade stressed the need to 
build a "changed" Senegal.  He thanked God, religious leaders, youth 
and women for his February 25 victory.  Underscoring that "Sopi" 
(change) is "on the march," he highlighted that the Government is 
devoting 40 percent of the budget to education and 10 percent to 
health.  He discussed a number of infrastructure projects, including 
the proposed Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) industrial platform 
at Diamniadio, the new Blaise Diagne International Airport, a new 
capital, new port facilities, and iron and phosphate projects. 
 
¶5.  Immediately after Wade's address, Secretary Chao, as one of five 
invited speakers, delivered the congratulatory message from 
President Bush to the 80,000-plus crowd gathered for the event at 
Dakar's Leopold Sedar Senghor (LSS) Stadium.  The other speakers, in 
order, were the President of France's Senate, Burkinabe President 
Blaise Campaore as ECOWAS Chairman, Nigerian President Olusegun 
Obasanjo, and Ghanaian President John Kufuor as President of the 
African Union.  Their remarks focused on democracy, good governance 
and African unity. 
 
¶6.  After the ceremonies at the Stadium, Secretary Chao and 
Ambassador Jacobs attended a high-level reception at the 
Presidential Palace where Secretary Chao personally delivered 
congratulations to President Wade on behalf of President Bush and 
met other heads of delegation. 
 
INDEPENDENCE DAY 
---------------- 
¶7.  That evening, President Wade's independence day message aired on 
national television.  Taking pride in the presidential election, he 
called for an equally large turnout for the June 3 legislative 
elections, which 12 opposition parties, including Rewmi, the 
Socialist Party, and the Alliance of Progressive Forces (AFP), have 
decided to boycott.  In keeping with the theme of the April 4 
parade, "women and national defense," Wade devoted much of the 
address to veterans, women and youth, again stressing education, 
infrastructure and employment.  Wade promised to hold a presidential 
 
DAKAR 00000823  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
council on people with disabilities.  (NOTE: In 2006, Wade held two 
presidential councils - one on the MCA project and one on street 
children.  END NOTE.) 
 
A PARADE, LUNCH WITH THE FIRST LADY, AND A CHAT WITH QADHAFI 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶8.  On April 4, Secretary Chao joined President Wade, heads of state 
and other heads of delegation to review the parade celebrating the 
47th anniversary of Senegal's independence.  At the conclusion, 
President Wade praised the 393 civilians and 3,451 military 
personnel, gendarmes, police, firemen, customs agents, health 
professionals, and forestry service professionals who participated, 
with 14 aircraft, 187 vehicles, 44 motorcycles and 127 horses.  As 
the guest of honor at the parade, Qadhafi delivered an 
anti-colonialism diatribe that was virtually identical to his speech 
a year earlier. 
 
¶9.  After the parade, Secretary Chao joined a select group of heads 
of state and heads of delegation at a luncheon hosted by President 
Wade at his personal "beach house" near Popenguine, approximately 80 
kilometers from Dakar where Secretary Chao presented the White House 
gift to President Wade.  At this event, Secretary Chao dined with 
Mrs. Wade, her daughter Sindiely Wade, and Ms. Denise Etote Duran, 
Director for Africa for France's "TV5 Monde."  After the lunch, 
Secretary Chao held a brief private meeting with Libyan leader 
 
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Qadhafi; notetakers were not permitted at this event.  Secretary 
Chao departed Popenguine directly for Dakar's LSS International 
Airport for an 18:35 "wheels up." 
 
BLAISE DIAGNE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 
----------------------------------- 
¶10.  DCM represented the USG at the groundbreaking for the new 
Blaise Diagne International Airport (BDIA) at Diass, which is 
approximately 50 kilometers from Dakar, between Diamniadio and 
Popenguine.  The new airport which is being financed largely through 
taxes on airline tickets is destined to open in 33 months with a 
capacity for 3 million passengers per year -- almost twice what 
Dakar's LLS International Airport is currently handling and six 
times the capacity for which LSS Airport was built.  The USD 460 
million project has been awarded to Saudi Arabia's Bin Laden Group, 
which will construct the airport, and Germany's Fraport, which will 
run BDIA.  The biggest issue for BDIA, however, may be that the toll 
road from Dakar to Diass is unlikely to be completed within 33 
months, making travel between BDIA and Dakar difficult. 
 
¶11.  Secretary Chao did not have the opportunity to clear this 
message prior to her departure. 
 
¶12.  Tripoli minimize considered. 
 
Jackson