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FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5715
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 6267

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TRIPOLI 000057 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG, ISN, OES (WILLIAM LAWRENCE). STATE PLEASE PASS TO COMMERCE ITA (NATE MASON). 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  1/20/2020 
TAGS: ECON EAGR EPET EFIN PGOV ETRD LY
SUBJECT: LIBYAN HEAD OF FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE WELCOMES U.S. 
BUSINESS 
 
TRIPOLI 00000057  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Tripoli, 
Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  In a recent meeting with the Ambassador, the 
head of the Libyan equivalent to a Ministry of Infrastructure 
reiterated Libya's past complaints that it had not been properly 
compensated for giving up Weapons of Mass Destruction and 
indicated that the "current environment" in the United States 
put Libya in an "embarrassing position."  At the same time, he 
said that Libya looked to the future and would welcome more 
American companies that could share new technologies, 
particularly in the fields of agriculture, alternative energy 
and water.  Matuq looked forward to the upcoming U.S. Department 
of Commerce-led Trade Mission next month and said he stood ready 
to brief them on business opportunities in Libya.  With his past 
experience as a leading figure in Libya's efforts to dismantle 
its WMD program and former Libyan diplomat, as well as his 
connections to Muammar al-Qadhafi, Matuq is an example of a 
Libyan figure whose title on paper does not necessarily reflect 
his real capacity to get things done in the opaque Jamahiriya 
system.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C)  On January 19, the Ambassador met with the Secretary of 
the General People's Committee for Facilities and 
Infrastructure, Matuq Mohammed Matuq, accompanied by Pol/Econ 
Chief and Econoff.  The Ambassador requested the meeting to 
brief Matuq on the upcoming U.S. Department of Commerce-led 
Trade Mission to Libya, scheduled for February 20-23.  Matuq was 
cordial and welcoming but quickly launched into the familiar 
Libyan lament that Libya has not been properly compensated for 
giving up its Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).  He said the 
Libyans felt they had been unfairly treated, and that, "put into 
the context with what is happening now in the United States," 
Libya was in "an embarrassing position" (Matuq was presumably 
referring to Libya's inclusion on the Transportation Security 
Administration's list of countries of "special interest").  He 
argued to the Ambassador that "you and your colleagues at [the 
State Department] know this well and should move to put some 
things into place on what we agreed to in 2003 and what we have 
been promised."  He continued, "everyone wonders why our 
(nuclear) equipment did not come back to Libya."  Arguing that 
Libya had paid significant sums of money to develop the nuclear 
material and equipment that it had agreed to give up, he 
suggested that the Libyan people were demanding that Libya be 
compensated.  The U.S. could ameliorate the situation by 
compensating Libya in some way that would benefit the Libyan 
people.  For example, the U.S. could provide full-scholarships 
for Libyan students to attend U.S. universities.  Matuq noted 
the expensive tuition bills that Libyan students face when 
studying in the United States and remarked that 
full-scholarships to Libyans from the USG would be seen as a 
"positive gesture." 
 
¶3.  (C)  Addressing Matuq's complaints, the Ambassador 
highlighted the milestones in the bilateral relationship over 
the past year, including moving forward in such areas as 
military cooperation, consular operations (over 3,000 NIV's 
issued since re-opening the visa section), the start of a human 
rights dialogue, and high-level engagement and visits on both 
sides.  At the same time, he said, we have not been able to 
progress as much as both sides wanted and had faced some major 
stumbling blocks in the last year -- such as Libyan reluctance 
to transfer highly enriched uranium spent fuel.  The Ambassador 
thanked Matuq for his engagement on that issue -- that challenge 
had posed a significant threat to the relationship and through 
cooperation and communication, we were able to solve the problem 
and move past it.  Remarking that the USG had heard the litany 
of Libyan complaints regarding WMD compensation from the highest 
levels of the GOL, the Ambassador noted that we were in a good 
place to move forward in the relationship rather than remain 
hostages of the past cycle of crisis and strong response. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Matuq agreed that the present time was ripe for 
building lasting, binding cooperation in areas of mutual 
interest and for the benefit of both nations.  He characterized 
Libya as open to U.S. business, particularly in agriculture, 
water, education, and construction.  Highlighting American 
companies already working in Libya's energy, construction, 
consulting, and service sectors, he believed that U.S. business 
was succeeding in Libya.  Matuq explained his personal concern 
for the environment, particularly the degradation of oil fields, 
spoiling of the desert and the depletion of water resources.  He 
recalled the visits of U.S. delegations in 2004 and 2005 to 
discuss Libya's future water needs and the protection of water 
as a scarce resource.  Matuq had met the delegation in his 
previous role as Head of the National Committee for Scientific 
Research.  During those visits, the delegations' discussions of 
 
TRIPOLI 00000057  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
new U.S. technology for pumping fresh water from oil fields had 
intrigued him, and this continued to be an area in which the 
Libyan government sought to cooperate with the United States. 
Likewise, the Libyans were interested in finding out more 
information about U.S. advances in agriculture.  Specifically, 
Matuq discussed U.S. development of seeds for plants that are 
able to sustain droughts and to survive in spite of Libya's 
highly saline soil. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Matuq was also interested in exploring strategies for 
creating sustainability within the oil and gas industry.  He 
considered Libya as capable of producing enough energy, through 
traditional and new, alternative energy sources, to meet its own 
needs and to export the rest.  He also saw opportunities 
elsewhere in the energy sector including in downstream 
activities (pipelines, power plants, etc.) and solar energy.  He 
wondered why there were not more American companies in North 
Africa, given the need for new technologies in energy 
production. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Ambassador emphasized that U.S. companies were 
interested in coming to Libya, as evidenced by the upcoming U.S. 
Trade Mission to Libya (February 20-23) and the fact that we 
were in the final stages of negotiating a Trade and Investment 
Framework Agreement (TIFA).  The Ambassador noted that the Trade 
Mission would cover nearly all of the priority sectors for Libya 
mentioned by Matuq:  energy, agriculture, water, education, 
healthcare and construction.  He stressed that the delegation 
would be led by a high level official of the Department of 
Commerce and would include the representatives of many Fortune 
500 companies.  A successful trade mission for Libya would have 
a ripple effect throughout the American business community and 
would signal that Libya truly welcomed U.S. firms.  However, he 
explained that current visa problems are preventing U.S. 
businesses and trade officials from coming to Libya.  Recent 
bilateral interactions seemed to indicate an official Libyan 
policy not to issue visas to Americans, both private citizens 
and officials.  He asked Matuq to help resolve the issue.  Matuq 
replied that all U.S. visitors that he had hosted over the 
years, either in his current position or previously, had not had 
any problems securing their visas for Libya.  Matuq suggested 
the Embassy work closely on the visa requests with the Secretary 
of the Economy (Minister of Economy-equivalent).  He said he 
would welcome the delegation and would help to brief them on 
doing business in Libya. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Bio Note and Comment: Matuq is a key figure in the 
U.S.-Libya bilateral relationship, as he oversaw the internal 
negotiations that led to the dismantlement of Libya's WMD as 
head of the National Committee for Scientific Research.  Prior 
to becoming Secretary of the General People's Committee (GPC) 
for Facilities and Infrastructure in March 2009, he was in 
charge of the GPC for Manpower, Training and Employment.  In 
this position, he oversaw labor policies that affected many 
foreign companies.  Matuq is known to be well-connected within 
the Libyan regime, including a connection to Muammar al-Qadhafi. 
 Matuq infamously served as a diplomat to the Libyan Embassy in 
London at the time of the fatal shooting of British guard Yvonne 
Fletcher.  Matuq's colorful past, rumored relationships, and 
seeming influence remind us that, in Libya, one's job title does 
not necessarily reflect one's ability to get things done in the 
opaque bureaucracy that is the Jamahiriya.  End comment. 
CRETZ