VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSA #4172/01 3460637
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120637Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2939
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0712
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 0268
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0592
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1380
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0715
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0545
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1239
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0233
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0512
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 5136
RUCPDC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0246

UNCLAS PRETORIA 004172 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S, EEB/ESC, ISN 
DOE FOR T.SPERL, G.PERSON, A.BIENAWSKI, L.PARKER, M.SCOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG TRGY KNNP PREL BEXP IAEA SF
SUBJECT: NUCLEAR JSCNEC LOOKING FOR MORE SUBSTANCE, BUT 
DELAYED TO JUNE 
 
REF: A. YOUNG-HUMPHREY-BURKART E-MAILS 
     ¶B. PRETORIA 3674 
     ¶C. PRETORIA 3584 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The SAG organized an inter-agency meeting 
in early December to establish a common approach to advancing 
U.S.-South African nuclear cooperation.  They determined that 
the SAG's highest priority is to gain signatory authority for 
the long-awaited bilateral Agreement on Cooperation in 
Research and Development in Nuclear Technology.  The SAG 
opted to delay hosting the proposed bilateral Joint Standing 
Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation (JSCNEC) from 
February to June to allow sufficient time to commit to and 
organize preparations for the event.  The SAG was unable to 
respond to the short-notice invitation to attend as an 
observer at the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) 
Steering Committee in Vienna December 11-13.  The SAG is 
still evaluating its position vis-a-vis GNEP, so there 
remains an opportunity to pitch getting South Africa inside 
this initiative.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
DFA and DME Forge Common Approach 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) Chief 
Director: Nuclear Tseliso Maqubela informed Energy Officer 
that DFA and DME had participated in a useful planning 
meeting in early December to establish a common approach to 
moving forward on key bilateral areas of nuclear cooperation. 
 Maqubela had encouraged Embassy to send a diplomatic note to 
the DFA asking for JSNEC dates to spur the inter-agency 
process.  Maqubela believes this diplomatic note is what 
prompted the DFA to seek the planning meeting with the DME. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Nuclear R&D Agreement - Merry Christmas 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Maqubela told Energy Officer the "Agreement Between 
the Government of the United States of America and the 
Government of the Republic of South Africa for Cooperation in 
Research and Development in Nuclear Technology" was being 
certified at DFA and could be completed and approved by the 
end of the year, for possible signing early in 2008.  Both he 
and DFA sources stressed that gaining signatory approval for 
this long-awaited nuclear cooperation agreement was their 
highest priority.  Moreover, having the signed R&D agreement 
in hand would provide a fruitful foundation for framing the 
JSCNEC meeting and discussions.  Maqubela said the DFA-DME 
team had confirmed that completing the nuclear R&D agreement 
was not/not in conflict with the Eskom new nuclear build 
process, because they involve different government players. 
(Note: Westinghouse is competing with Areva of France for the 
first tranche of nuclear power plants for state electricity 
supplier Eskom and is likely to win if it is left up to 
merit, based on its localization and technology transfer 
credentials.  End Note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Let's Get the JSCNEC Right: Delayed, But Empowered 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  According to Maqubela, the SAG decided to delay 
Q4.  (SBU)  According to Maqubela, the SAG decided to delay 
the proposed JSCNEC from February to June to allow sufficient 
time to organize participation and determine appropriate 
format and topics.  DFA Deputy Director: Nuclear Disarmament 
and Non-Proliferation Michiel Combrink separately 
corroborated this information to Acting Political Counselor 
on December 7, confirming that his top priority was to 
finalize the nuclear R&D agreement.  DFA Deputy Director: USA 
Liezl Combrink also confirmed this approach to Econonomic 
Counselor.  Maqubela said DFA would lead the JSCNEC 
preparations, comparable to State Department's lead from the 
U.S. side.  He opined that postponing the meeting would avoid 
 
 
distraction and over-shadowing from current domestic 
political events.  (Note: a likely reference to next week's 
ANC leadership elections.  End Note.)  Maqubela added that 
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Vienna Greg Schulte and 
DFA Deputy Director General Abdul Minty had established an 
excellent working relationship for advancing bilateral 
nuclear cooperation. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Still Pondering GNEP - Need More Time 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Maqubela informed Energy Officer that he would not 
be able to participate in the GNEP Steering Committee in 
Vienna December 11-13.  He said he would have more time to 
work closely with USDOE and State on this and other 
initiatives in 2008, noting that he has been relieved of his 
responsibilities for consulting at Eskom on the bid for new 
nuclear plant build, which had occupied up to 50 percent of 
his time.  DFA Deputy Director Michiel Combrink told Acting 
Political Counselor the decision not to participate as 
observer at this GNEP meeting was partly based on proximate 
timing and partly based on the need for further 
inter-departmental consultation to determine SAG's policy 
with respect to GNEP.  The decision not to participate in 
this particular meeting was not a definitive view.  Maqubela 
reminded Energy Officer that his office faced significant 
capacity constraints in handling the variety of nuclear 
energy issues on its plate and this affected his ability to 
assess GNEP. 
 
----------------------------- 
Comment - Good News, Bad News 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) JSCNEC: DFA is now fully engaged and committed to 
working the DME-proposed JSCNEC initiative and "buys in" to 
the need for regular bilateral dialogue on nuclear issues. 
DFA advocates working with DME on a meatier framework for the 
JSCNEC, including potentially showcasing the long-sought 
bilateral nuclear R&D agreement.  The SAG's decision to delay 
(yet again) the launching of the JSCNEC from the February 
date tabled during the bilateral discussions with DME in 
Washington last April is disappointing, but may ultimately 
bind the SAG to working towards a successful event at the 
newly mooted time-frame of June in South Africa. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) GNEP: The SAG has not said no to GNEP, but remains 
circumspect, given its oft-stated commitment to consider 
developing its capacity in the full range of the nuclear fuel 
cycle, including beneficiating and enriching its uranium 
resources, and potentially reprocessing of spent-fuel, 
consistent with its broader non-proliferation, minerals and 
energy policies.  Post would welcome additional guidance and 
arguments from the Department and USDOE on the benefits of 
South Africa's participation in GNEP in order to influence 
the initiative from the inside. 
BOST