VZCZCXRO7543
RR RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHLB #0986/01 2460537
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030537Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5653
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 000986 
 
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 EINT ETRD KFLU PGOV SCUL LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: SWINE FLU WILL NOT DISRUPT THE BEGINNING OF THE 
SCHOOL YEAR (ECONOMIC WEEK IN REVIEW, AUGUST 24 - 30, 2009) 
 
CONTENTS 
-------- 
 
-- SWINE FLU CASES REACH 600, SCHOOL YEAR TO PROCEED AS USUAL 
-- ECONOMY MINISTRY HOLDS WORKSHOP ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
-- USAID-FUNDED PROJECT FOCUSES ON STRENGTHENING JUDICIARY 
-- LEBANON'S CONNECTIVITY RANKING FALLS REGIONALLY, MOBILE 
PENETRATION TO INCREASE WITH PRIVATIZATION 
 
 
SWINE FLU CASES REACH 600, 
SCHOOL YEAR TO PROCEED AS USUAL 
------------------------------- 
 
¶1. (U) Following a meeting with Minister of Education Bahia Hariri 
on August 26, Minister of Public Health Mohammad Khalifeh announced 
that the number of swine flu cases had reached approximately 600, up 
from 500 last week.  Hariri and Khalifeh insisted the GOL would not 
delay the upcoming school year because of the flu, but they 
maintained they would take necessary precautions, placing doctors in 
schools and initiating awareness campaigns to prevent children who 
may be infected from going to school. 
 
¶2. (SBU) An advisor to Khalifeh, Rasha Hamra, told us on August 24 
that the ministry has medication on hand to treat the flu and is 
sending it to hospitals with confirmed flu cases.  She said the GOL 
would soon submit a purchase order through the World Health 
Organization for the swine flu vaccine, but does not expect to 
receive the order before the beginning of 2010. 
 
ECONOMY MINISTRY HOLDS WORKSHOP 
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) On August 25, the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MOET), in 
collaboration with the MEPI-funded WTO Accession project at the 
MOET, held a workshop on the WTO's Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) 
Agreement.  After a presentation by Booz Allen Hamilton senior 
technical advisor Ed Nemeroff, MOET's legal consultants presented 
the draft law on technical regulations, which is still being revised 
by the GOL stakeholders, before being sent for cabinet and 
parliament approval. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In a separate meeting on August 24, MP and former head of 
the parliamentary economic committee Nabil de Freij told us that 
more media campaigns are needed to raise awareness on the importance 
of WTO accession among the general public.  De Freij, a staunch ally 
of PM-designate Saad Hariri and member of March 14, said that Hariri 
has the political will to move forward on WTO accession, and placed 
all blame for the lack of progress on passage of WTO legislation on 
the opposition.  Econoff pointed out that March 14 had prevented a 
quorum in almost all parliamentary sessions in the first half of 
2009, preventing passage of legislation, while Lama Oueijan, a WTO 
expert and advisor to the Minister of Economy and Trade, noted that 
Hizballah had been helpful to the MOET in its preparation of 
legislation.  (Note: Although invited, no MPs, including De Freij, 
attended the TBT workshop.  End note.) 
 
USAID-FUNDED PROJECT FOCUSES 
ON STRENGTHENING JUDICIARY 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Econoff and econstaff met with National Center for State 
Courts' (NCSC) USAID-funded Lebanon Judicial Strengthening Project 
head Philippe Lamarche and deputy head Gary Collins.  Given that one 
of the most important obstacles to improving the intellectual 
property (IP) environment in Lebanon remains at the level of the 
judiciary, econoff inquired about the possibility of increased IP 
content in the NCSC program, especially at the Judicial Training 
Institute (JTI), at which all local judges are trained.  The 
project, running since December 2007, focuses on strengthening the 
judicial sector in Lebanon, including an overhaul of the JTI and its 
curriculum and providing assistance to the Higher Judicial Council 
in developing a strategic plan for the judicial sector.  Lamarche 
said the primary focus of the program is strengthening the 
independence of the judiciary and improving access to justice. 
 
LEBANON'S CONNECTIVITY RANKING FALLS, 
MOBILE PENETRATION TO INCREASE WITH PRIVATIZATION 
 
BEIRUT 00000986  002 OF 002 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6. (U) The Arab Advisors Group 2009 Total Country Connectivity 
Measure (TCCM) ranked Lebanon 14th out of 19 MENA countries, down 
from 10th in the previous survey.  The survey uses penetration of 
fixed lines, mobile lines, and internet to measure information and 
communication technology (ICT) services in each country.  An earlier 
report by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) stated 
that Lebanon's internet penetration was at 37.7% in 2008, up by 
10.9% from 2007, with the aggregate number of internet users up by 
65.3% to over 1.5 million in 2008, and a 16% surge in mobile phone 
penetration, which came at the expense of fixed lines. 
 
¶7. (U) Meanwhile, the Lebanese Telecommunications Regulatory 
Authority's annual report reported that mobile penetration reached 
35.7% in 2008.  It forecast the rate to reach 60% in 2014, if the 
privatization of the two current mobile operators takes place by 
2010 and the GOL issues a third mobile license in 2011. 
 
SISON