VZCZCXYZ0021
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #0003/01 0021353
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 021353Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8690
INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 1006
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0083
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0040
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0104

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000003 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV YM
SUBJECT: THE FORUM'S FUTURE STILL IN DOUBT 
 
REF: SANAA 2361 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The Ambassador and the German CDA met with Foreign 
Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi on January 2 to discuss the Forum 
for the Future.  The Ambassador noted the USG's continued 
commitment to the Forum, but, in the absence of a 
representative of the Japanese Embassy, no progress was made 
on forming a joint position on how to proceed.  The Foreign 
Minister made it clear that the ROYG would prefer to host the 
Forum, but said that there is insufficient time to prepare 
for the event before the spring.  The participants agreed to 
meet again on January 9, hopefully with their Japanese 
counterpart as well.  The Minister made it clear that if a 
Sana'a Forum fails to take place, the ROYG does not want to 
be blamed.  End Summary. 
 
State of Play 
------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On January 2, the Ambassador met with Foreign Minister 
AbuBakr al-Qirbi and the German CDA in an effort to finalize 
a plan that would either allow the Forum for the Future to 
take place or reach consensus on cancellation.  No 
representative of the Japanese Embassy attended the meeting, 
although it is unclear why.  The Ambassador told the FM that 
the US would like to see the Forum go forward and reiterated 
that the Secretary had set aside February 5 to attend it, 
presuming all political obstacles to her participation are 
removed.  The German CDA said that his government would 
support the holding of the Forum provided the German 
government played no hosting role whatsoever.  Al-Qirbi said 
that his conversations with the Japanese led him to believe 
that they had no intention of dealing with the "unfinished 
business" of the 2007 Forum and see the 2008 Forum with the 
UAE as their only responsibility. 
 
¶3. (C) Al-Qirbi then said that the ball is in the G8's court 
but noted that it is a ball that "everyone wants to throw to 
someone else."  He went on to say that he had hoped that the 
meeting would lead to a firm joint position and suggested 
that it may be time for Yemen and Germany to share the 
responsibility and make the choice, an invitation the German 
chose to ignore.  He also said that, with only a month left 
for preparations, the February 5 date was not workable.  He 
then suggested three possible ways forward: first, the Forum 
could be held in the spring with some form of G8 hosting; 
second, the G8 could designate a country other than Germany 
or Japan as co-host (he suggested Russia based on what he 
acknowledged was second-hand information that Russia was 
prepared to do so); and third, Japan and Yemen could co-host 
the 2008 Forum. 
 
¶4. (C) Al-Qirbi said that the ROYG would be willing to host 
the Forum at the sub-ministerial level, noting that the level 
of representation reflects on the sending nation rather than 
the hosting nation.  The Ambassador said that he believed the 
USG would be willing to push for an enhanced role for Yemen 
in an Emirati/Japanese 2008 Forum to showcase Yemen's 
commitment to the Forum and its principles.  The Minister did 
not respond to this offer. 
 
Placing Blame 
------------- 
 
¶5. (C) The Foreign Minister then began to discuss ways to 
announce the cancellation of the Forum, if necessary.  The 
Ambassador emphasized the importance of such an announcement 
not placing blame on any particular country.  Al-Qirbi said 
that he was not certain that he could agree to that, noting 
that blame would fall on the weakest country (i.e. Yemen) if 
it were not clearly defined.  He then suggested that the 
cancellation be announced at a joint press conference.  The 
Ambassador discouraged this approach and recommended a joint 
statement instead. 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶6. (C) Foreign Minister al-Qirbi noted that he was traveling 
to Cairo on Saturday and suggested that all four parties meet 
on January 9 for further discussions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) While unwilling to be the one to make the decision, 
the Foreign Minister seems prepared, as he did earlier this 
week (reftel) for the cancellation of the Forum, if no clear 
way forward is found.  The ROYG does not, however, appear to 
be willing to be the sole bearer of the responsibility for 
its cancellation, something it continues to suggest it will 
lay at the feet of the G8.  End Comment. 
SECHE