VZCZCXRO5762
RR RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHLB #0685/01 1731335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221335Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5157
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000685 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND EEB/IFD/ODF 
STATE PASS USTR FRANCESCKI 
STATE PASS USAID LAUDATO/NANDY/SCOTT 
TREASURY FOR PARODI/BLEIWEISS/AHERN 
USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE 
NSC FOR SHAPIRO/MCDERMOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND PGOV KIPR KFLU LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: GOL EXPECTS 50% INCREASE IN TOURISM IN 2009 
(ECONOMIC WEEK IN REVIEW, JUNE 15 - 21, 2009) 
 
CONTENTS 
-------- 
-- LEBANON EXPECTS TWO MILLION VISITORS IN 2009 
-- SUCCESSFUL IPR ENFORCEMENT WORKSHOP HELD IN BEIRUT 
-- PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES TO HELP FIGHT COUNTERFEITS 
-- PRIME MINISTER SEEKS PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT 
STRATEGY 
-- BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION EXHIBITION SHOWS HIGH INTEREST IN REAL 
ESTATE SECTOR 
-- NUMBER OF SWINE FLU CASES IN LEBANON REACHES TWENTY 
 
 
 
 
LEBANON EXPECTS TWO 
MILLION VISITORS IN 2009 
¶1. (U) In an interview with French daily L'Orient le Jour on June 
16, director general of the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) Nada Sardouk 
said she expects Lebanon to receive around two million total 
tourists in 2009, noting that 500,000 visited in the first four 
months of the year.  The number of tourists visiting Lebanon in 2008 
reached a record 1.33 million, a 31% percent increase compared to 
¶2007. 
 
¶2. (U) Sardouk stressed that work for promoting tourism and 
development of the sector is being done in close collaboration with 
the private sector.  The MOT is promoting Lebanon as a destination 
for medical tourism, ecotourism, and alternative lodging in rural 
areas, which also supports sustainable development.  The MOT is also 
collaborating with the Lebanese American University (LAU) on the 
"Food is Identity" project, a research project that will help 
Lebanon register its national dishes at the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO). 
 
SUCCESSFUL IPR ENFORCEMENT 
WORKSHOP HELD IN BEIRUT 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) A three-day "Border Enforcement and Intellectual Property 
Rights" workshop was held June 16-19 at the Institute of Finance in 
Beirut.  Over 30 participants from Lebanese Customs, Internal 
Security Forces (police), Common Border Forces, and General Security 
took part in the program, funded by the DOS's Bureau of 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), with speakers 
from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), US Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement, as well as local experts from the private 
and public sectors.  Attorney Todd Reves from USPTO noted that 
high-level GOL representation, including the ministers of interior, 
finance, energy and water, as well as Ambassador Sison, was 
unprecedented for such a workshop. 
 
¶4. (U) During the opening ceremony, the ministers stressed on the 
important role that creativity and thus intellectual property rights 
(IPR) play in the Lebanese economy and the need to educate people, 
at the earliest stage possible, on respecting IP.  The issue of 
finding a balance between IPR holders and providing goods at a price 
relative to per capta income in developing countries was also 
raisedby the ministers, and the need for greater international 
cooperation to enforce IP.  Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud said 
Lebanon needs to define its borders before protecting them, and 
stressed the importance of IPR for investment and WTO accession. 
Baroud noted that a government strategy is needed to properly 
enforce IPR.  He also said that within the framework of the Arab 
Interior Ministers' Council, work was being done to establish an 
office to counter organized crime in Beirut, which would also cover 
IP crimes. 
 
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES 
TO HELP FIGHT COUNTERFEITS 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  The importance and success of public-private partnership 
in enforcing IPR was also highlighted during the general assembly of 
the Brand Protection Group (BPG) -- a group of 22 local and 
international companies fighting counterfeits -- held on June 18. 
Presentations highlighted the achievements of BPG's lobbying with 
the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MOET), Customs, and Beirut Port 
to step up efforts against counterfeits.   The BPG will continue its 
 
BEIRUT 00000685  002 OF 002 
 
 
advertising campaign to raise awareness on counterfeits for the rest 
¶2009.  A representative from the MOET's consumer protection 
department announced that of the 82 new inspectors that will be 
recruited this year, 10-20 will be specialized in IP and counterfeit 
issues, while they continue to operate a call center for consumer 
complaints (established in 2005 with BPG's help).  Although BPG 
members recognized the progress made so far by the GOL in terms of 
protecting IPR, they noted the need to focus on the judiciary system 
and training of judges to better enforce IPR. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Meanwhile, the Institute of Finance announced that it will 
be hosting a follow-up training program for enforcement bodies in 
mid-July, in which it expects around 350 participants from customs, 
police, and other public sector agencies.  The training will be held 
by representatives of private companies, members of BPG, on better 
ways to enforce IPR. 
 
PRIME MINISTER SEEKS PRIVATE SECTOR 
SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) On June 17, Prime Minister Siniora held a roundtable with 
heads of economic associations to exchange ideas and seek support 
for the regional development strategy and measures to counter the 
effects of the global economic crisis, which cabinet passed on June 
¶12.  Ramzi Hafez, editor in chief of Lebanon Opportunities magazine 
and close to the March 14 coalition, to which Siniora belongs, told 
us the purpose of the eeting was to get private and public sector 
supprt for the implementation of the development stratgy. 
However, Hafez noted that Siniora held this meeting after the 
strategy was passed by cabinet, presumably so that he would not feel 
compelled to take any remarks into account.  "This is Siniora's 
style," Hafez said. 
 
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION EXHIBITION SHOWS 
HIGH INTEREST IN REAL ESTATE SECTOR 
-------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Project Lebanon, the 14th International Trade Exhibition for 
Construction Technology, Building Materials, and Equipment for the 
Middle East was held in Beirut on June 16-19.  The exhibition 
featured the products and services of over 350 companies from 23 
countries, including Lebanon, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, and 
Poland.  The real estate sector in Lebanon has been one of the 
sectors receiving the highest rates of investment in recent years, 
and the vast turnout and number of exhibitors in Project Lebanon 
could be an indicator of the continued interest in the real estate 
sector in Lebanon and the region, in spite of the global economic 
crisis. 
 
NUMBER OF SWINE FLU CASES IN 
LEBANON REACHES TWENTY 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) According to the Ministry of Public Health, new cases of 
swine flu have been confirmed in Lebanon, patients arriving from 
Australia, Canada, and five from the U.S. following their 
participation in a Youth and Exchange Study (YES) Program. 
Treatment has already been administered to all diagnosed and to 
those they had contact with in Lebanon.  This brings the total of 
swine flu cases to twenty, all of which have originated from abroad 
and have either recovered or are in the process of recovery. 
 
SISON