VZCZCXRO3698
PP RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #1144/01 3350724
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 010724Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1504
INFO RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 4241

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001144 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
S/P FOR G.BEHRMAN 
S/SRMC FOR K.CHANDLER 
R FOR S.NOOR-ALI 
EUR/PPD FOR L.MCMANIS 
BARCELONA FOR G.CROUCH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIAD PREL SOCI XF XI ZR ZP CN PU MV SO SP
SUBJECT: MISSION SPAIN ON "THE PRESIDENTIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT 
 
& BEYOND" 
 
REF: STATE 112468 
 
SBU - ENTIRE TEXT 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  In response to taskings set out in reftel, Post's 
Muslim Engagement Working Group canvassed a wide range of 
contacts to solicit qualified nominees for the Entrepreneurship 
Summit.  In addition, the Public Affairs Section (PAS) has 
widely publicized the event.  The Working Group has met and 
coordinated several times since the cable was received and made 
progress on several fronts, including identification of several 
candidates for the Summit(to be submitted septel), scheduling 
and initial planning for roundtables, and identifying areas to 
hone in on over the next few months.  This cable also includes 
responses to Action Items in the reftel. 
END SUMMARY 
 
------------------------- 
WORKING GROUP 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  On November 13 and November 25, the PAO and ECON Counselor 
jointly invited Embassy Officers and local staff to a Muslim 
Engagement Working Group to focus on the objectives of the 
Summit.  The meeting was attended by representatives of PAS, 
ECON, POL, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (USCS), and 
other Mission elements, including Consulate Barcelona (by 
conference call).  The group will meet as needed to advance the 
Summit objectives.  (Reftel, tasking para 8) 
 
----------------------------------- 
SUMMIT NOMINATIONS: 
----------------------------------- 
¶3.  The Muslim communities in Spain maintain a relatively low 
profile.  Most of Spain's Muslims are manual laborers from 
Northern Africa (Morocco) and Sub-Saharan Africa who have come 
to Spain to seek jobs.  Many of the Muslims residing in 
Catalonia and down the eastern coast to Valencia have family 
ties in Pakistani and South Asia.  Identifying candidates who 
fit the particular profile of the Summit has been challenging 
given the diverse populations, especially since the majority 
reside in areas where the Embassy has limited contact. Mission 
outreach has therefore concentrated on immigrant and Muslim 
communities through social and cultural organizations.  The 
Mission has identified a half dozen potential candidates and 
will forward nominations via septel.  (Reftel tasking para 9) 
 
----------------------------------- 
PUBLICIZING THE SUMMIT 
----------------------------------- 
¶4.  In order to further publicize the Summit among Muslim 
businesspersons and entrepreneurs outside our normal channels, 
the Mission has reached out to business chambers of commerce 
(including the American Chamber of Commerce and American 
Business Council).  We contacted our Consular Agents in areas 
known to have important Muslim communities; however, no 
appropriate nominees could be identified. 
 
¶5.  To cast a wider net, we have translated and posted 
information about the Summit from the White 
House's "Entrepreneurship.gov" site on our Internet site, 
Facebook and Twitter pages, and sent the information 
to "WebIslam," the largest Spanish language site dedicated to 
Islam.  We reached out to Casa Arabe (an autonomous institution 
in the Foreign Ministry responsible for promoting greater 
understanding of Arabs and Muslims in the world).  The Director 
offered to post the information to Casa Arabe's website; we 
also sent information to Muslim cultural centers in Madrid, 
Barcelona, and Cordoba, and distributed information via our 
Information Resource Centers in Madrid and Barcelona to several 
hundred subscribers to our Muslim information mailing list. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
LOOKING AHEAD: PLANS TO SUPPORT THE SUMMIT 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6.  ROUNDTABLES (Reftel tasking para 10):  The Working Group 
has tentatively identified a date of December 17 for a 
roundtable in Madrid hosted by the Chief of Mission;  Barcelona 
will propose a date for a similar event hosted by the Consul 
General in Barcelona.  These events will include not only the 
Mission's potential nominees for the Summit, but also 
influential representatives from Muslim communities, social and 
cultural organizations who can provide context for a discussion 
 
MADRID 00001144  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
of entrepreneurship and the economic issues that affect the 
communities they represent. 
 
¶7.  PUBLIC DIPLOMACY & ECONOMIC PROMOTION ACTIVITIES (Reftel 
tasking para 11): 
(a) As noted in paras 4 and 5, PAS Madrid and Barcelona have 
already undertaken efforts to broadly disseminate information 
about the Summit to key contacts and organizations in Muslim 
communities in Spain via direct contact and through the use of 
Internet and new media.  The Summit is prominently listed on 
the Embassy home page.  We plan to keep it on the home page up 
through the Summit. 
(b) The IRCs in Madrid and Barcelona will continue to 
distribute information on the Summit to their existing and 
growing distribution lists of recipients.  Madrid's nominees 
will be added to the lists, if not already on them.  The IRCs 
will also send pertinent information to Muslim cultural centers 
and organizations working with Muslim communities to keep them 
engaged. 
(c) Officers throughout the Mission will strengthen contact 
with Spain's eventual nominees (both Mission-nominated and self- 
nominated) to ensure their effective participation.  We hope 
that the Summit team will inform and provide the Embassy with 
contact information of any Spain nominees who self-nominate and 
all Spain candidates (both Spanish citizens and non-citizen 
residents in Spain) who are selected to participate so that the 
Embassy may reach out to them. 
(d) When more details about the Summit are available, Embassy 
Officers will engage local media, think tanks, and contacts in 
Muslim communities on the Summit goals and objectives. 
(e) We hope that Washington will produce appropriate articles 
and op-eds for Post to place in local media. 
(f)  ECON and USCS will emphasize the themes of the Summit 
through local chambers of commerce, businesses, business 
organizations, and Spanish government ministries and 
institutions that promote entrepreneurship.  Promotion efforts 
may also include speaking engagements at Spanish university 
business schools.  ECON and USCS will inform PA of potential 
programs and activities for which entrepreneurs and 
stakeholders may be eligible.  These programs will be 
publicized on the Embassy web site.  (reftel tasking para 11) 
 
Chacon