VZCZCXRO4633
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0231/01 0860632
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260632Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4679
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0124
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000231 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV OREP ECON OPET EAID AO
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL RAISES TRANSPARENCY CONCERNS AND CREATES 
OPENING FOR HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE 
 
REF: 07 LUANDA 1207 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  During their March 18 ) 22 visit to 
Angola, Senate Professional Staff Members Michael Phelan and 
Neil Brown engaged senior Angolan leaders on transparency, 
the upcoming legislative elections, and the role of energy in 
our bilateral relationship.  The Angolan interlocutors were 
candid about the capacity and infrastructure challenges of 
the country's post-conflict economic development and 
acknowledged the need for greater transparency and a better 
investment climate.  The Angolans were less forthcoming on 
specifics for tackling these concerns.  Finance Ministry 
interlocutors want to expand the Fiscal Programming Unit at 
the Ministry.  One message was clear and consistent 
throughout the StaffDel,s numerous senior-level meetings: 
Angola seeks increased high-level engagement with the United 
States.  Senior-level USG engagement with Angola would be 
well-timed, and offers an opportunity to gauge the 
seriousness of the GRA's professed desire to deepen our 
relationship.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Despite extremely short notice, the GRA organized an 
impressive schedule of high-level meetings for the visiting 
staff members, including meetings with the ministers of 
finance and industry, the vice-ministers of external 
relations and territorial administration (election 
preparations), influential senior MPLA leader Paulo Jorge, 
and others.  The discussions were candid and frank, focused 
largely on the many challenges Angola faces and less on 
government efforts to tackle these problems. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Assessing the nation's difficult investment climate, 
the Angolan interlocutors recognized that Angola needs to 
address a wide range of problems, including the lack of 
educated and trained human capacity, poor physical 
infrastructure, the continuing problems with procuring 
Angolan visas, the high cost of housing in Luanda, the effect 
of the crippling traffic congestion in Luanda, the language 
barrier, and the nation's outdated legal and regulatory 
framework. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Raised by the StaffDel, transparency, or rather 
Angola's need for greater transparency, featured prominently 
in the discussions as well, with the Angolan interlocutors 
acknowledging that the transparency issue contributes to 
Angola's negative international image.  In separate meetings, 
Finance Minister de Morais and National Treasury Director Dr. 
Armando Manuel requested more U.S. assistance in helping the 
GRA address transparency shortcomings.  They proposed, for 
starters, that the USG deepen its existing assistance to the 
Fiscal Programming Unit at the Finance Ministry, as a basis 
for expanding assistance in other areas at the Ministry. 
(Note: No new discretionary Development Assistance funding is 
available for the program in the FY 2008 USAID budget.) 
However, in response to StaffDel queries about Angola's 
participating in the Extractive Industries Transparency 
Initiative, the Finance Minister explained that this is an 
issue of "political sensitivity," and the government does not 
want to pass the legislation and regulations required to 
comply fully with EITI.  Nonetheless, he claimed Angola is 
"doing more than other countries" on EITI, including 
providing on-line information on royalty payments by the oil 
producers.  During a dinner hosted by Ambassador Mozena for 
the StaffDel with country managers of foreign oil companies 
here, the consensus of the group was that lack of 
transparency continues to be a significant concern in the 
petroleum sector. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The StaffDel was warmly greeted by the MPLA's 
influential veteran leader Paulo Jorge, who said Angola must 
improve its education and health services, and find a way to 
enhance economic production through diversification away from 
the oil sector.  He called for the relationship to move 
beyond words and into action.  He proposed regular, direct 
bilateral engagement at senior levels to discuss a range of 
issues, including health, education, transparency, the 
investment climate, and economic development. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Unlike his meeting with visiting AFRICOM Commander 
Gen. Ward last December (reftel), when he subjected the 
General to an hour-long harangue on the evils of America, 
Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Jorge Chicoti received the 
 
LUANDA 00000231  002 OF 002 
 
 
delegation with great warmth and professed his desire for 
deepened relations with the United States.  He began the 
meeting by apologizing profusely for his Ministry's failure 
to provide concurrence for the proposed and subsequently 
postponed early March visit to Angola by NAVEUR Commander 
Admiral Fitzgerald.  He promised that his Ministry would work 
with the Embassy to reschedule the visit soonest.  Chicoti 
said Angola will be ready for legislative elections on 
September 5 and/or 6, and added that Angola will welcome 
international observers.  Chicoti pointed to Angola's new 
public disarmament campaign as a way the country will achieve 
better election security.  Chicoti said the Kenyan crisis 
demonstrates the need for transparency in an election. 
Concluding the meeting, the Vice Minister asked for increased 
"contact" with the Department of State, adding that improved 
mil-mil relations, especially related to AFRICOM, will 
require further consultation. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The StaffDel met separately with the executive 
committees of the National Assembly's Commission on Foreign 
Relations and the Commission on Human Rights.  The 
parliamentarians expressed appreciation for the opportunity 
to exchange views with representatives from the U.S. 
legislative body, and they asked that the dialogue continue. 
(Note: Post is working with the National Assembly to nominate 
parliamentarians for an International Visitors Program this 
fiscal year.)  The parliamentarians said they looked forward 
to the upcoming legislative elections in September, and 
seemed ready to welcome change after fifteen years on the job 
in the same Commission. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: Senior GRA officials took advantage of the 
opportunity to describe to the Congressional Staffers the 
myriad challenges facing this country's economic development. 
 When the conversations turned to the difficult issues of 
transparency and regulatory reform for an improved investment 
climate, however, ideas for concrete solutions were lacking. 
A clear and coordinated message from the GRA was delivered 
to/through the StaffDel: Angola wants to engage with the U.S. 
 The time seems right to gauge the seriousness of Angola's 
professed desire, as expressed to Ambassador Mozena and the 
StaffDel, to "deepen relations" with the United States.  In 
that regard, Post believes that ongoing Washington 
discussions regarding a possible Angola visit by senior USG 
officials are especially timely.  The invitation of an 
Angolan ministerial-level delegation to Washington for 
discussions would be well-timed as well. 
 
¶9. (SBU) StaffDel Phelan did not have an opportunity to clear 
this cable. 
MOZENA