Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04LJUBLJANA1125
2004-12-17 11:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ljubljana
Cable title:  

INVITATION TO MINE ACTION CONFERENCE; LJUBLJANA,

Tags:  PREL PARM KHDP SI 
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UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 001125 

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AND PM/WRA
BELGRADE FOR I. CAMPBELL AND A. CARLSON (PODGORICA)
PRISTINA FOR F. EVANS
SARAJEVO FOR J. MOORE
SKOPJE FOR T. ALLEN
SOFIA FOR L. LOWDER
TIRANA FOR N. ZHU
ZAGREB FOR K. SELINGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PARM KHDP SI
SUBJECT: INVITATION TO MINE ACTION CONFERENCE; LJUBLJANA,
JAN 13-14, 2005

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 001125

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AND PM/WRA
BELGRADE FOR I. CAMPBELL AND A. CARLSON (PODGORICA)
PRISTINA FOR F. EVANS
SARAJEVO FOR J. MOORE
SKOPJE FOR T. ALLEN
SOFIA FOR L. LOWDER
TIRANA FOR N. ZHU
ZAGREB FOR K. SELINGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PARM KHDP SI
SUBJECT: INVITATION TO MINE ACTION CONFERENCE; LJUBLJANA,
JAN 13-14, 2005


1. (U) INVITATION: PM/WRA and Embassy Ljubljana would like
to announce an upcoming Regional Mine Action Coordination
(RMAC) Conference, scheduled to take place in Ljubljana on
13-14 January 2005. PM/WRA Senior Program Coordinator and
Program Manager for Demining in the Balkans Murphey McCloy
will attend. Posts should send the officer with primary
responsibility for the demining portfolio to this conference.
For posts with minimal mine action dealings, the officer
handling SA/LW projects should attend. PM/WRA has generously
offered to fund transportation and lodging costs for one
participant from each of the following posts to attend the
conference: Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje,
Sofia, Tirana, and Zagreb.


2. (U) PURPOSE: For the first time since the creation of
the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victim
Assistance (ITF) in Slovenia in 1998, PM/WRA does not have a
direct representative in the region. This is a planned state
of affairs that reflects the maturity of the U.S. program for
providing mine action assistance in the Balkans. With the
recent departure of the Regional Mine Action Coordinator from
his base in Konjic, Bosnia, PM/WRA sees this conference as an
opportunity to gather Embassy Political and
Political-Military Officers in the region in one place at one
time to talk about ways to ensure the best communication
possible as posts take on a more active role in ITF tendering
processes and the oversight of SA/LW and mine action
projects. As most of you know already, the USG has donated
over USD 72 million to the ITF for mine action projects since

1998. Your participation in the conference will help ensure
that the coordination/cooperation mechanisms are in place to
guarantee that the considerable USG funds for SA/LW and mine
action projects in the region are put to good use.


3. (U) PROGRAM: Day 1 will start with internal meetings at
Embassy Ljubljana to discuss USG priorities in the region,
communication with PM/WRA, the intersection of public
diplomacy and mine action, and other topics of interest to
the attendees. Day 1 will continue in the afternoon with
presentations about major U.S.-funded initiatives in the
region, including the Mine Dog Detection Center in Bosnia and
the Regional Center for Underwater Demining in Montenegro.
Day 2 will focus on field trips to visit the ITF Headquarters
in Ig, Slovenia, and the Institute for Rehabilitation of the
Republic of Slovenia (IRRS),where mine victims have been
rehabilitated. A more detailed schedule will be sent to
participants closer to the date of the conference. If you
would like to request certain topics to be addressed by a
PM/WRA representative or have other suggestions to maximize
the benefit gained by conference participants, please send
your ideas to Pol-Miloff John Crosby at the address in para
4, with a cc to Mr. McCloy at mccloym@state.gov.


4. (U) LOGISTICS: Participants are requested to arrive by
the evening of 12 January or early morning on 13 January to
allow for two full conference days on Thursday and Friday,
13-14 January. As funding for participants' travel will be
arranged from PM/WRA's "Experts Travel Fund" on deposit at
the ITF, participants are requested to notify Pol-Miloff John
Crosby (CrosbyJR@state.gov; 386-1-200-5534; IVG: 762-5534),
ITF staffer Mojca Petrovcic (ljubljana@itf-fund.si;
386-1-479-6580),and Mr. McCloy at the address in para 3
about their intention to attend the Conference and their
travel requests. Posts are asked only to cover Meals and
Incidentals expenses for conference participants. Please
confirm your attendance as soon as possible via email to
Crosby, Petrovcic and McCloy, in addition to sending a front
channel cable addressed to both Secstate (slugged for PM/WRA
(M. McCloy)) and Ljubljana (slugged for Pol-Miloff J. Crosby).
ROBERTSON


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