VZCZCXRO8411
RR RUEHBZ
DE RUEHBZ #0416 2851710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121710Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0792
INFO RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0872
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA

UNCLAS BRAZZAVILLE 000416 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR AF/C J SWAN, C BARGERON, AF/EPS THOMAS HASTINGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR EAID ECON SCUL MARR CF
SUBJECT: BRAZZAVILLE IN BRIEF OCTOBER 12 2007 
 
 
¶1. (U) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President 
 of Brazil 
, will arrive in 
Brazzaville October 15 for one day meeting with GRoC to discuss 
bilateral agreements and participate in the RoC launch of a 
campaign to provide immunizations for measles and distribution 
of bednets for children aged 5 years and younger.  The U.S. 
Ambassador coordinated the receipt of 210,000 mosquito-treated 
bednets for the campaign from an American donor "Nothing but 
Nets." 
 
¶2. (U) Rumors of a Cabinet shuffle have been silenced once again 
following a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Denis 
Sassou-Nguesso On October 10.  Nguesso told members of the 
Cabinet that the reshuffle was not a priority right now and the 
meeting was spent addressing progress made on human rights, 
justice and energy initiatives and defining the function of the 
magistrate court. 
 
¶3. (U) Infrastructure: The final agreement between the RoC 
Minister of Transportation and the Consortium 
Malaysia-Korea-Congo (CMKC) was signed on October 10.  CMKC will 
construct two railways that will connect the northernmost city 
of Ouesso with the commercial center of Pointe Noire.  The 
construction will begin in 2009. CMKC will control operations 
for the railway transport system for 15 years following the 
completion of the project. Post is pursuing details on the 
planned reparation of the major railway from Pointe Noire to 
Brazzaville. Domenica Pavard, representing a delegation of the 
European Union (EU), and Pierre Moussa, RoC minister of State, 
Town Planning, Housing, & Land Reform, signed an agreement that 
the EU will finance the operations of dredging the area 
surrounding the Brazzaville port operations of the Congo River 
and will provide maintenance of the interior waterways project 
for an estimated cost or US$6 million.  Oscar Otoka, an official 
of the Public Works Ministry, announced that the electricity 
generating site at Mpila has been completed. This project will 
supplement electricity currently purchased from the Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRoC) for Brazzaville. 
 
¶4. (U) Agriculture: International Funds for Agricultural 
Development (IFAD), an international financial institution which 
combats rural hunger and poverty in developing countries through 
low-interest loans and direct assistance, in partnership with 
the RoC ministry for Agriculture and the breeding, sponsored a 
week-long seminar focused on the production and marketing of 
agricultural products. Jeanne Dambendzet, RoC Minister of 
Agriculture, gathered experts from various countries of Africa 
and Europe, to focus on better management of economical projects 
that IFDA finances in their countries. 
 
¶5. (U) Former Prime Minister Stiphane Bongho-Nouara died on 
October 7, 2007 in Belgium.  Bongho-Naura had been in exile 
since 1997.  He served as PM under Pascal Lissouba's regime from 
September 2 and he resigned on December 6, 1992. 
 
WEISBERG