VZCZCXRO1623
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1134/01 1190721
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290721Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2875
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/USDOE WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001134 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON; STATE ALSO FOR EEB AND NEA/I 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET KCOR PGOV KDEM EINV SENV ENRG IZ
SUBJECT: Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative - Iraq 
Update 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: During an April 23 meeting, Iraq's new national 
coordinator for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 
(EITI), Ministry of Oil Deputy Inspector General Alaa Mohie El-Deen, 
said that he was in the process of hiring additional staff to 
implement preparations for Iraq to become an EITI candidate country. 
 The required steps were to form an EITI stakeholders group and to 
submit a national work plan.  Both he and Oil Minister Shahristani 
noted the difficulty of determining suitable NGOs to represent civil 
society within the stakeholders group.  Alaa has received the 
invitation for the May 12-14 meeting of national coordinators in 
Washington, and hopes to attend.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) EconOff met April 23 with Ministry of Oil (MoO) Deputy 
Inspector General Alaa Mohie El-Deen, who recently took over as 
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) national 
coordinator from MoO Training Directorate Director General Nihad 
Moosa.  Alaa said the Prime Minister had issued a letter designating 
the Ministry of Oil Inspector General as the national coordinator, 
but not appointing him by name.  In response to Alaa's question, 
EconOff offered to verify with the EITI Secretariat that the 
designation of a national coordinator could be by position, rather 
than an individual.  (Note: Alaa is currently the acting Inspector 
General, with the likelihood of being appointed to replace his 
former boss, who was promoted to be the Deputy Oil Minister for 
upstream operations.  His appointment is not a certainty, but Alaa 
told us that his primary competitor is not likely to be selected, 
since she is too young and lacks sufficient experience.  Originally 
from Najaf, Alaa returned to Iraq in 2004 after many years of 
residence in Canada and the U.S.  End note.) 
 
¶3.  (U) Following the designation of a national coordinator, Alaa 
noted that Iraq had to take two additional steps to become an EITI 
candidate country -- to hold a stake-holders' conference and to 
develop a national plan by the end of 2009.  He was trying to employ 
competent English-speaking staff to implement the EITI program. 
Alaa expressed eagerness to receive EITI informational material and 
to have the opportunity to participate in EITI training and 
orientations.  He said that Oil Minister Shahristani was also very 
supportive of Iraq's membership in EITI.  (Note: Nihad, Alaa's 
predecessor for EITI, participated in an EITI training program in 
Berlin, which she commented had been invaluable in solidifying her 
understanding of EITI's approach.  End note.)  Alaa also said he had 
received an invitation to attend a May 12-14 national coordinators' 
conference in Washington, DC, for which he was seeking Oil Minister 
Shahristani's authorization to attend. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Alaa briefly described some of the challenges in forming a 
tripartite stakeholder group drawn from government, industry, and 
civil society, as required by EITI principles.  From the government 
side, he planned to invite representatives of the Ministries of 
Planning and Finance, in addition to the Oil Ministry, and members 
of Parliament (Council of Representatives, CoR).  The state-owned 
enterprises of the Ministry of Oil would represent industry. 
Responding to EconOff's question whether all extractive industries 
would be represented, Alaa mused that he could also invite the 
Ministry of Industry and Minerals (MIM).   Although Iraq does not 
have operating mines, MIM has jurisdiction over the sector.  With 
Qhave operating mines, MIM has jurisdiction over the sector.  With 
respect to civil society, however, Alaa noted that the law providing 
for establishment and registration of NGOs had not yet been passed, 
so that, strictly speaking, Iraq did not have NGOs.  One possible 
civil society participant could be the Union of Iraqi Lawyers, which 
was a long-established and well-respected organization.  Alaa was 
dubious about the possibility of including trade unions, which he 
characterized as mostly "corrupt," in the stakeholder group. 
 
¶5.  (U) Alaa readily agreed that representatives of the Kurdistan 
Regional Government (KRG) should be invited to participate with the 
central government in the EITI, especially so since the KRG had 
contracts to produce oil and gas.  Alaa noted that the KRG had sent 
its own delegation to the EITI Global Summit in Doha.  He would 
consult with the chairman of Parliament's Oil and Gas Committee, who 
is Kurdish, on the best way to extend the invitation. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In an April 2 meeting, Shahristani spoke positively about 
EITI to EMIN Ambassador Wall and mentioned the issue of NGO 
participation.  He said that the MoO had met all internal 
requirements, but that there was no NGO that focused on oil 
revenues.  He understood, however, that the third party in the 
stakeholder group was not limited just to NGOs, but could include 
representatives of media or Parliament.  He had suggested that the 
Parliament's Oil and Gas Committee form an Iraq chapter of an 
international network of "Parliamentarians against Corruption," 
based in Canada.  He opined that, once formed, the Parliamentary 
group would provide the necessary representation on the stakeholder 
group.  Shahristani remarked that Iraq and Norway were in a race to 
 
BAGHDAD 00001134  002 OF 002 
 
 
join the only EITI compliant country, Azerbaijan.  (Note: 
Shahristani is getting ahead of himself, since Iraq has not even 
been inscribed as a candidate country.  End note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ministry of Oil loses the training and familiarity 
with EITI that Nihad Moosa gained, but the designation of the 
Inspector General, rather than the Director General for training is 
more logical.  If appointed as Inspector General, Alaa is likely to 
be a committed EITI supporter. 
HILL