VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #0444 0750906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160906Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1903
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS CAIRO 000444 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS USTR 
 
USDA/FAS for ACTING ADMINISTRATOR HALE 
 
E.0. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON EAGR EFIN PREL EG
SUBJECT:  EGYPT:  TRADE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON NEXT WEEK 
 
REF:  CAIRO 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Rachid will 
visit Washington March 22-25.  He plans meetings with Administration 
officials, representatives from business organizations, and members 
of Congress.  He will not be traveling with a business delegation. 
Rachid is a key reformer in the Egyptian government, and a friend to 
the U.S.  He was the driving force behind the QIZ agreement between 
Egypt and Israel, and continues to support expansion of bilateral 
trade between the U.S. and Egypt.  He has not visited the U.S. since 
December 2005, when he was there for talks about a potential FTA. 
Although the Egyptian government has no expectations on any movement 
on an FTA in the near future, they would like to re-engage, perhaps 
on a formal basis, on key trade and investment issues, including 
IPR, standards, and foreign direct investment. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Rachid has confirmed appointments with the Federal Trade 
Commission, and Representative Jim McDermott.  On the private sector 
side, he will see the National Retail Federation and National 
Association of Manufacturers.  In a meeting March 15 with Deputy 
Minister Samiha Fawzy, she asked for embassy assistance in obtaining 
the following meetings: 
 
-- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, 
-- Larry Summers, National Economic Council, 
-- Acting USTR Peter Allgeier 
-- Acting Secretary of Commerce 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Outside the USG, Rachid has asked to meet with Robert 
Zoellick at the World Bank, and Tom Donahue from the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce.  We have also suggested that he consider meeting with OPIC 
and the National Foreign Trade Council.  We hope that these 
officials and other senior representatives of Washington agencies 
will be available to meet with him when he is there next week. 
 
¶4.  (U) Please contact SCO Amer Kayani or ECON/C Catherine 
Hill-Herndon for follow up in helping to support this important 
visitor.  Egyptian Embassy Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs 
Ashraf El Rabiey is responsible for Rachid's schedule in the U.S. 
 
Scobey