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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #2479/01 3391520
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 041520Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1004
INFO RUEHPS/AMEMBASSY PRISTINA 0065
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE 0032
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0014
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0242

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002479 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2018 
TAGS: PREL KO EG
SUBJECT: KOSOVO'S REPRESENTATIVE IN EGYPT FRUSTRATED WITH 
KOSOVAR, EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 579 
     ¶B. CAIRO 1410 
     ¶C. CAIRO 1920 
 
Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs 
William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Beqir Ismaili, the Government of Kosovo's 
(GOK) spokesman in Islamic countries, told us on November 30 
that he was frustrated with officials from both the 
Government of Egypt (GOE) and his own GOK.  He said that 
Egyptian MFA officials still had not responded to his 
mid-November request for a meeting, and did not issue a visa 
allowing the Kosovar Deputy FM to travel to Egypt for an 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) seminar on 
women's rights because she only had a Kosovo passport.  In 
addition, Kosovar Government officials were not interested in 
sending a senior delegation to the UAE, which is the first 
Arab state to recognize the country.  GOE officials explained 
to us that Egypt will not recognize Kosovo or any other 
unilateral declaration of independence because of the 
"precedent" it would set for Palestine and Sudan.  Ismaili is 
considering shifting gears to engage more with businesses and 
less with governments.  However, he is still working with a 
former Egyptian Deputy FM to lobby for Kosovo recognition. 
Ismaili is extremely appreciative of the support that the USG 
provides to Kosovo. End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Kosovo Passport Affects GOK officials, students 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Beqir Ismaili, Kosovo's Representative in Cairo told 
us that Kosovar Deputy FM Vlora Citaku was unable to 
participate in an OIC meeting on women's issues that was held 
in Cairo on November 24-25 because she did not receive a visa 
from the Egyptian Government. Ismaili said that a request for 
Citaku to participate in the meeting was made by the Albanian 
Embassy in Riyadh and accepted by OIC General Secretariat. 
Ismaili attended the conference in her stead.  Ismaili said 
that passports were also an issue for Kosovar students.  He 
noted that the UN and Yugoslav passports for many Kosovar 
students, including his son, had expired, and these students 
could no longer complete their education in Egypt. 
 
¶3. (C) Mohamed Moneer, an officer in the Egyptian MFA's 
Eastern and Southern European office told us that the GOE did 
not issue a visa to Citaku because she submitted a Kosovo 
passport.  He stated that since the GOE does not recognize 
Kosovo, it cannot issue an Egyptian visa in a Kosovo 
passport.  He said that if she would have applied with an 
Albanian passport, she would have received the visa.  He 
asked, "Why doesn't Albania issue passports to those living 
in Kosovo, similar to what Turkey does for Northern 
Cypriots?"  He continued "Kosovo is in a position of 
weakness, it should not insist on using its passports, it 
should concede something." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
Former Egyptian Deputy FM Lobbying for Kosovo Recognition 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Ismaili told us that former Egyptian Deputy FM, 
Abdallah Eshaal traveled to Kosovo in late November to 
participate in a seminar, organized by Ismaili.  Ismaili said 
that after the seminar he was able to obtain Eshaal's 
commitment to aid in the Kosovo recognition effort.  He said 
the Eshaal is lobbying people within the Egyptian Government 
to recognize Kosovo's independence.  Moneer told us that 
Eshaal's efforts would not have any effect on Egypt's policy 
toward Kosovo (reftels A and B).  He argued that Egypt's 
policy was "neutral" because it does not recognize any 
unilateral declarations of independence.  Moneer noted that 
Egypt did not have a "double standard" as it also had not 
recognized the Georgian provinces of Abkhazia or Ossetia 
(reftel c).  He explained that the basis behind the Egyptian 
policy is that the GOE wants to comply with international 
law, and recognition of Kosovo would set a bad precedent that 
could aggravate the situations in Palestine and Sudan. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Ismaili Frustrated with Lack of Support 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Ismaili told us that he is increasingly discouraged 
with GOK officials.  He said that the there is an opportunity 
to send a senior delegation to the UAE, but the GOK "is not 
 
interested" in sending a delegation.  Ismaili feels that a 
senior delegation could "open doors" and he "doesn't 
understand the lack of interest."  He complained that despite 
his "15 years of service for Kosovo," the GOK does not pay 
him any money for his duties in Cairo.  Ismaili currently 
receives his funding from Alba Press, an Albanian publishing 
company, for translation work, and books he writes in Arabic 
on Kosovo and Albanian culture.  He said that he is 
appreciative of U.S. support because it is the key to keeping 
the Kosovo issue in the minds of Egyptian officials. Ismaili 
told us that the Albanian Embassy in Cairo "does nothing on 
Kosovo", and the Macedonian Ambassador, who is ethnic 
Albanian, "is not eager to take up the Kosovo issue." 
 
¶6. (C) Ismaili told us said that he is now beginning to work 
more heavily on the commercial side in a consulting role.  He 
said there were two Kosovar companies that were interested in 
doing business in Egypt, and he claimed that Egyptian 
businessman Naguib Sawiris was eager to invest in Kosovo. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: Ismaili is more frustrated by the apparent 
lack of interest on the part of the GOK than the GOE's 
position. He is looking for other avenues to pursue that 
might produce more personal satisfaction and income. However, 
he is committed to the cause of Kosovo's recognition, and we 
don't expect him to abandon his work on that front.  The 
GOE's position on Kosovo recognition is straightforward. 
Despite efforts, by Abdallah Eshaal, we do not expect the 
GOE's position to change on this Kosovo issue in the near 
future. 
SCOBEY