VZCZCXRO0579
RR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAM #3881 2611419
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181419Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0354
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0189
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0386
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 1000
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0026
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0769
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3697
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 2709
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 5484
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0803
RUEHMK/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 0634
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 1172
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3369
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA 0376
RUEHMS/AMEMBASSY MUSCAT 0524
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 1834
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0620
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0223
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0249
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1181
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0506

UNCLAS AMMAN 003881 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR E, EEB/OIA, EEB/FO, NEA/ELA, AND NEA/RA 
STATE PASS AID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV XF
SUBJECT: MENA OECD STEERING GROUP MEETS IN AMMAN TO PLAN FOR 
NOVEMBER INVESTMENT MINISTERIAL IN CAIRO 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The Steering Group of the MENA OECD Investment Program met 
in Amman, Jordan on September 5 to review progress and prepare for 
its ministerial meeting.  The Egyptian Prime Minister will open the 
November 28 Ministerial and its Investment Minister will chair the 
meeting.  The initiative, now in its 4th year, assists countries in 
the region in developing and executing national reform agendas to 
improve the investment/business climate, and also provides a 
regional forum for comparing experiences and tracking progress in 
implementing reforms.  It has active participation from the region 
and includes support and participation from major OECD members 
including the U.S., Japan, UK, and Canada as well as from 
international institutions including the World Bank, UNDP, and the 
Islamic Development Bank. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Among the key developments from the meeting was the 
announcement of OECD and World Bank collaboration on a project to 
develop more refined diagnostic tools and performance indicators, 
based on experiences with the Bank's Doing Business indicators and 
OECD's Policy Framework for Investment, to more uniformly measure 
progress of countries across the region.  A first review of a draft 
Ministerial Declaration and agenda for the Ministerial was also 
conducted.  After revision, the draft will be circulated again for 
comment.  A second round of invitations to MENA and OECD member 
Ministers will be sent shortly, including to Secretary Rice and OPIC 
President Mosbacher who attended last year.  Canada, which is in the 
process of making a three-year contribution through its development 
assistance agency, joined the U.S., UK, Japan, Bahrain, and other 
major financial backers in the Steering Group. 
 
¶3. (SBU) U.S. participation was led by State/EEB's Investment Office 
Director Wes Scholz, who was accompanied by Gregory Howell of 
State/NEA's MEPI office and James Filpi of the Commerce Department 
General Counsel's Office.  Filpi briefed the steering group on its 
MEPI-funded commercial law development program and its value to 
countries in the region.  On the margins of the meeting, Scholz 
briefed OECD officials on USG plans to fund an advisor on investment 
climate issues in Iraq, as a part the U.S. commitment to the 
MENA-OECD Initiative. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Info Posts interested in obtaining more information should 
contact Mark Cullinane in State's investment office at 
cullinanemw@state.gov or 202-736-4012.  The investment office would 
be happy to provide background regarding project status in 
individual countries or information on the November Ministerial in 
Cairo. 
¶5. (U) This message was drafted by EEB/ODF/OIA. 
 
¶6. (U) Tripoli:  minimize considered. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.gov.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
 
HALE