Abu Dhabi Conference - 24 May 2012

Chairmen’s Conclusions of the International Meeting of the Working Group

on Economic Recovery and Development of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People

Abu Dhabi

24 May 2012

1. The first meeting of the Working Group on Economic Recovery and Development of the Friends of the Syrian People (“the Working Group”), was held in Abu Dhabi on 24 May 2012, with the participation of more than 60 countries and representatives from the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States, as well as the United Nations Development Program.

2. The Working Group welcomed the participation of designated representatives of the Syrian National Council and other members of the Syrian opposition, including members of the Syrian civil society and business community, as well as Syrian economic experts.

3. Recalling the conclusions of the Friends Group’s meetings in Tunisia and Istanbul, all

Participants reiterated their determination to support the just cause of the Syrian people. They underlined that the future of Syria must be determined by the Syrian people and that the Friends Group will stand firmly by them until their rightful and legitimate aspirations are fulfilled. In this context, the Participants re-emphasised the Friends Group’s firm and strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, political unity and territorial integrity of Syria.

4. Recognising that the most immediate challenges the Syrian population is facing are the ongoing violence and the humanitarian crisis in Syria, all Participants reiterated their commitment to support Syria economically in the transition period and thereafter in order to ensure that the post-conflict Syria stands on a firm foundation in financial and economic terms.

5. The Participants convened in Abu Dhabi for the inaugural meeting of the Working Group. They welcomed the endorsement of the mandate of the Working Group by the Second Conference of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People in Istanbul on 1 April. They confirmed the co-chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates and Germany.

6. The Working Group agreed to meet regularly and to organise its work on economic reconstruction and development in accordance with the four key issues identified in paragraph six of its Mandate. It endorsed the initial work plans on

Immediate Impact Measures, presented by representatives of the United Kingdom;
Donor Coordination, presented by representatives of the European Commission;
Economic Policy and Reforms, presented by representatives of Germany; and
Business Sector Involvement, presented by representatives of the United Arab Emirates

The Working Group recognized all countries and international organisations for their contributions to the work plans and the commitments made therein.

7. The Co-Chairs declared that they have made preparations to set up a secretariat of the Working Group to support the implementation of the work plans and to facilitate the ongoing activities of the Working Group. The activities of the secretariat shall include in particular, but are not limited to, supporting the Co-Chairs in the preparations of meetings of the Working Group; coordinating the implementation of the work plans developed by the Basket leaders; and facilitating the cooperation between all stakeholders in preparing for the post-conflict economic recovery and development of Syria. The secretariat will shortly be established, and will be funded jointly by Germany and the United Arab Emirates for its first year of operation. Mr Gunnar Waelzholz has been designated to head the secretariat in its initial phase. The Participants welcomed this step.

8. Members of the Syrian opposition led by the representatives of the Syrian National Council introduced their National Economic Vision for the New Syria. They strongly welcomed the establishment of the Working Group and committed themselves to cooperate closely with it and to jointly prepare for the economic reconstruction and development of post-conflict Syria. All Participants welcomed the work on the National Economic Vision for the New Syria as part of developing a credible alternative to policies and practices of the regime.

9. Participants welcomed the designation of one member of the Syrian opposition as a dedicated point of contact for each of the four key issues identified in paragraph six of the Working Group’s mandate, and they emphasised that this should be followed by setting up a permanent organisational structure on the side of the Syrian opposition to cooperate closely with the Working Group and its secretariat.

10. The Participants reiterated their strong commitment to increasing the economic pressure on the Syrian regime by fully implementing bilateral and multilateral sanctions. They stressed the importance of the close cooperation of this Working Group with the Working Group on Sanctions. They recognised the necessity of lifting the sanctions as soon as their objectives have been achieved in order to support the economic revival of post-conflict Syria.

11. The Working Group called on all other countries and international organisations to contribute to the work of the Working Group and a free and prosperous future of post-conflict Syria.

12. The Working Group welcomed current efforts by the Syrian business community to organise in support of the opposition. They called upon all members of the Syrian business community to join this effort and contribute to shaping a viable economic perspective for the Syrian people in postconflict Syria.

13. The co-chairs of the Working Group will report the results of this meeting at the upcoming meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People in Paris, and will in due course set the date of the next gathering of the Economic Recovery and Development Working Group.

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#	Country	Participants
1	United Arab Emirates	H.E.Dr.Anwar GargashMinister of State for Foreign AffairsH.E. Khalid AlGhaith *Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs* H.E.Jassim AlQassimi *Director of Economic Affairs Department* H.E.Mohamed Al Suwaidi *Director of Arab Affairs Department* Mr.Saleh Al Suwaidi *Deputy Director of Economic Affairs Department* Miss Ahood Al-Zaabi *Second Secretary, Office of the Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs* Mr.Ahmed Burhaimah *Attaché, Economic Affairs Department* Miss Alia AlDhaheri *Attaché, Policy Planning Department* Mr.Daniel A. Bergheim *Analyst, Policy Planning Department*
2	Germany	H.E.Dr. Clemens von GoetzeDeputy Political Director (Head)Mr. Boris Ruge *Regional Director for the Near and Middle East and the Maghreb* Nikolai von Schoepff *Ambassador of Germany to the UAE* Mr. Wälzholz *Designated Head of Secretariat* Mr. Christoph Klarmann *Desk Officer, Syria Department*
3	United States	H.E. Rick Barton (co-head)*Assistant SecretaryMara Rudman (co-head) Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, USAID* Jonas Wechsler *Director- Operations, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations* *U.S. Department of State* Ansel Stein *Public Relation Officer* Nisha Abraham *Political/Economic Section, U.S. Embassy in the UAE*
4	Canada	H.E. Kenneth LewisAmbassador of Canada to the UAE (head)Mr. Sherif Nagi *Head of the Political Section* Mrs. Mounira Badro *Political Analyst at the Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi*
5	Syria	Dr.Osama Kadi (head)*Executive Director, Finance and Economic Affairs Bureau FEAB SNC, Generalcoordinator Syrian Economic Task Force SETF, Coordinator Basket Three* Mr.Samir Nashar Member of Executive Office @ Syrian National Council SNC Mr. Abrahim Miro Deputy Director, FEAB @ SNC, SETF Coordinator-Basket One Mrs. Farah Atassi SETF, Coordinator Basket Two Dr.Basma Kodmani Head of International Relations SNC Mr. Mazen Dauleh Planning Director** Dr.Mazen Sawaf
6	Norway	H.E. Ambassador Jon Hanssen –BauerHE Ambassador, Special Representative to the Middle EastMr Erik Furu *First Secretary at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi*
7	UK	Mr. Mark BowmanDFID Director General for West Asia, Middle East, Security and HumanitarianResponse Mr Nick Clissitt *UK Stabilisation Unit* Ms Rebecca Dale *DFID* Ms Lin Yan *FCO* Mr Ianto Jones *Private Secretary to Mark Bowman*
8	Republic of Korea	Mr. Tae-in CHUNG *(head)Deputy Director-General for African and Middle Eastern Affairs, Ministry ofForeign Affairs and Trade* Mr. Tae-ick CHO *Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the UAE* Ms. Joo-min PARK *Second Secretary, Assistant Director of Middle Eastern Affairs Division, Ministry* *of Foreign Affairs and Trade*
9	Japan	H.E. Mr. Tatsuo WATANABE *(head)Ambassador of Japan to the UAE*Kansuke NAGAOKA Director, First Middle East Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Naohito FUJIMOTO Third Secretary, Embassy of Japan in the UAE Naoyuki TERAJIMA Third Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Syria**
10	Colombia	Roberto VelezAmbassador of Colombia in UAE
11	Netherlands	H.E. Dolf HogewoningAmbassador to SyriaGerard Michels *Ambassador to the UAE*
12	Romania	Mr. Victor Mircea(Head)*Minister Plenipotentiary at the Globalization Department in the Ministry ofForeign Affairs of Romania* Mr. Calin Ciortin Second secretary at the Embassy of Romania in Abu Dhabi Mrs. Alexandra Bogdan Second secretary at the Embassy of Romania in Berlin**
13	Spain	H.E. Jose Eugenio SALARICH *(Head)Ambassador of Spain to the UAE*Mr. Vicente Cacho Deputy Head of Mission**
14	Finland	Mr Ilkka-Pekka Similä *(Head)Ambassador of Finland to the United Arab Emirates*Ms Tiina Kajakoski Desk Officer in the Department for Africa and the Middle East, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland**
15	Switzerland	Mr. Daniel Häne *(Head)Charg*é d’Affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Abu Dhabi**Céline Müller
16	Belguim	HE Mr. Alphonse Creusen *(Head)Director of the Bilateral Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs inBelgium* HE Mrs. Anick Van Calster *Ambassador of Belgium to the UAE*
17	Australia	HE Mr Pablo Kang *(Head)Ambassador to the UAE and Qatar***
18	Kuwait	H.E.Jamal AlGhanim *(Head)Director of Arab Region Department at Ministry of Foreign Affairs*H.E. Aziz AlDehani Kuwait Ambassador in Syria Mr.Fawaz AlQahtani Arab Region Department at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ali Shaban Observer at Ministry of Finance**
19	Iraq	H.E. Arshad Tawfeeq *(Head)Ambassador of Iraq***
20	Slovenia	Mr Gregor Kozovinc *(Head)Regional Director for Middle East and Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs***
21	Sweden	HE Ambassador Max Bjuhr *(Head)Ambassador of Sweden*Ms. Leila Abdu First Secretary, Political Officer and Head of Admin**
22	Denmark	H.E Poul O.G. Hoiness *(Head)Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to UAE and Qatar*Mr. Nils Winther Pedersen /Economic Analyst The Royal Danish Consulate General, Dubai**
23	EU	Alexandre Baron *(Head)European Commission , desk officer Syria*Beatriz Salvador-Garcia European External Action Service ,desk officer Syria**
24	Luxembourg	Mr.Marc Scheer *(Head)Charge*’d’affaires at Embassy of Luxembourg**
25	India	Mrs. Namrata S.Kumar *(Head)Counselor at Embassy of India***
26	GCC	H.E. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Hamad Aluwaisheg *(Head)Director General of International Economic Relations at the GCC GeneralSecretariat along*
27	Jordan	H.E.Naief AlZaidan *(Head)Jordan Ambassador in Jordan***
28	Italy	H.E. Davide La Cecilia *(Head)MEPP Coordinator*Mrs. Caterina Gigliuto Development Cooperation, MOFA Amb. Giorgio Starace Ambassador of Italy to the UAE Mr Christian Lungarotti Embassy of Italy – First Commercial Secretary**
29	Bahrain	Amb. HE Mohammed ben Hamad Al Moawada *(Head)Ambassador of Bahrain***
30	France	Mr Eric Chevallier *(Head)French ambassador in Syria*Mr Daupeyroux Economic Counselor François Gautier Chargé d’affaires**
31	Portugal	H.E Jaime Van Zeller Leitao *(Head)Ambassador of Portugal***
32	Turkey	Mr. Murat Ulku *(Head)Deputy Director General of the Bilateral Economic Relations at the TurkishMinistry of Foreign Affairs*
33	Chile	H.E. Jean-Paul Tarud *(Head)Ambassador of Chile in the UAE***
34	Egypt	Dr Mohamed Elbadri *(Head)Assistant Minister***
35	Arab League	H.E. Abdul Nabi Mussayab *(Head)Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the Federal Republic of Germany***
36	Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)	HE Yasser Abed-Rabb o *(Head)Sec retary of the Ex ecu tive Committee o f th e Palestinian LiberationOrg anization (PLO)*
37	Oman	H.E. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Abdulla AlQetbi *(Head)Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the UAE***
38	Cyprus	H.E. Mr. Elpidoforos A. Economou *(Head)Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the UAE***
39	Azerbaijan	Mr. Ilham Nazarli *(Head)Counselor of the Embassy*Mr. Fuad Gafarov Attach**é
40	Mexico	H.E. Francisco Alonso Escobar *(Head)Ambassador of Mexico to the UAE***
41	Thailand	H.E.Mr. Somachai Charanasomboom *(Head)Thai Ambassador to the UAE***
42	Yemen	H.E. Saleh Mubarak Salem Hednah *(Head)Ambassador of Yemen to the UAE***
43	Tunisia	H.E. Tareq Bataieb H.E Tarek bettaeib *(Head)Ambassador of Tunisia to the UAE***
44	Morocco	H.E. Mohamed Ait Ali *(Head)Ambassador of Moroco to the UAE*H.E. AlMahdi Boanan Counselor**
45	Argentina	H.E. Ruben Eduardo Caro *(Head)Ambassador to Argentina to the UAE***
46	Qatar	H.E. Ali bin Fahad Al Hajri *(Head)Assistant Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs*H.E. Abdullah Mohamed Al-Uthman Ambassador of Qatar to the UAE Mr. Eisa Mohamed AlManaei Office of the Assistant Minister for External Affairs**
47	Greece	H.E.Mr. Dionyssios Zois *(Head)Ambassador of Greece*Mr. Michail Stamatis First Secretary of the Embassy**
48	Albania	H.E Behar Bejko *(Head)Ambassador to Albania to the UAE***
49	Indonesia	H.E. Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi *(Head)Ambassador of Indonesia to the UAE***
50	Poland	H.E Adam Krzymowski *(Head)Ambassador of Poland to the UAE***
51	Bulgaria	Mr. Angel Kalinov *(Head)Consul General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Dubai***
52	Algeria	H.E. Hamid chebirah *(Head)Ambassador of Algeria to the UAE***
53	UNDP	Ms. Soknan Han Jung *(Head)Officer in Charge of the UNDP UAE Country Office***
54	Uruguay	Consul General Ambassador Alfredo CazesConsul General of Uruguay

Abu Dhabi Conference – 24 May 2012

Chairmen’s Conclusions of the International Meeting of the Working Group

on Economic Recovery and Development of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People

Abu Dhabi

24 May 2012

2. The Working Group welcomed the participation of designated representatives of the Syrian National Council and other members of the Syrian opposition, including members of the Syrian civil society and business community, as well as Syrian economic experts.

3. Recalling the conclusions of the Friends Group’s meetings in Tunisia and Istanbul, all

6. The Working Group agreed to meet regularly and to organise its work on economic reconstruction and development in accordance with the four key issues identified in paragraph six of its Mandate. It endorsed the initial work plans on

Immediate Impact Measures, presented by representatives of the United Kingdom;

Donor Coordination, presented by representatives of the European Commission;

Economic Policy and Reforms, presented by representatives of Germany; and

Business Sector Involvement, presented by representatives of the United Arab Emirates

The Working Group recognized all countries and international organisations for their contributions to the work plans and the commitments made therein.

11. The Working Group called on all other countries and international organisations to contribute to the work of the Working Group and a free and prosperous future of post-conflict Syria.

13. The co-chairs of the Working Group will report the results of this meeting at the upcoming meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People in Paris, and will in due course set the date of the next gathering of the Economic Recovery and Development Working Group.

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#

Country

Participants

1

United Arab Emirates

H.E.Dr.Anwar GargashMinister of State for Foreign AffairsH.E. Khalid AlGhaith

Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs

H.E.Jassim AlQassimi

Director of Economic Affairs Department

H.E.Mohamed Al Suwaidi

Director of Arab Affairs Department

Mr.Saleh Al Suwaidi

Deputy Director of Economic Affairs Department

Miss Ahood Al-Zaabi

Second Secretary, Office of the Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs

Mr.Ahmed Burhaimah

Attaché, Economic Affairs Department

Miss Alia AlDhaheri

Attaché, Policy Planning Department

Mr.Daniel A. Bergheim

Analyst, Policy Planning Department

2

Germany

H.E.Dr. Clemens von GoetzeDeputy Political Director (Head)Mr. Boris Ruge

Regional Director for the Near and Middle East and the Maghreb

Nikolai von Schoepff

Ambassador of Germany to the UAE

Mr. Wälzholz

Designated Head of Secretariat

Mr. Christoph Klarmann

Desk Officer, Syria Department

3

United States

H.E. Rick Barton (co-head)Assistant SecretaryMara Rudman (co-head)

Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, USAID

Jonas Wechsler

Director- Operations, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations

U.S. Department of State

Ansel Stein

Public Relation Officer

Nisha Abraham

Political/Economic Section, U.S. Embassy in the UAE

4

Canada

H.E. Kenneth LewisAmbassador of Canada to the UAE (head)Mr. Sherif Nagi

Head of the Political Section

Mrs. Mounira Badro

Political Analyst at the Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi

5

Syria

Dr.Osama Kadi (head)Executive Director, Finance and Economic Affairs Bureau FEAB SNC, Generalcoordinator Syrian Economic Task Force SETF, Coordinator Basket Three

Mr.Samir Nashar

Member of Executive Office @ Syrian National Council SNC

Mr. Abrahim Miro

Deputy Director, FEAB @ SNC, SETF Coordinator-Basket One

Mrs. Farah Atassi

SETF, Coordinator Basket Two

Dr.Basma Kodmani

Head of International Relations SNC

Mr. Mazen Dauleh

Dr.Osama Kadi (head)*Executive Director, Finance and Economic Affairs Bureau FEAB SNC, Generalcoordinator Syrian Economic Task Force SETF, Coordinator Basket Three***

H.E. Mr. Tatsuo WATANABE *(head)Ambassador of Japan to the UAE***Kansuke NAGAOKA

Mr. Victor Mircea(Head)*Minister Plenipotentiary at the Globalization Department in the Ministry ofForeign Affairs of Romania***

H.E. Jose Eugenio SALARICH *(Head)Ambassador of Spain to the UAE***Mr. Vicente Cacho

Mr Ilkka-Pekka Similä *(Head)Ambassador of Finland to the United Arab Emirates***Ms Tiina Kajakoski

Mr. Daniel Häne (Head)Chargé d’*Affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Abu Dhabi***Céline Müller