TURKEY COMMITTED TO ASSISTING PAKISTAN BUT

UNCLAS ANKARA 006557 SIPDIS THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL PHUM TU PK SUBJECT: TURKEY COMMITTED TO ASSISTING PAKISTAN BUT ADDITIONAL DETAILS NOT YET FINALIZED Ref: (A) STATE 200915 (B) ANKARA 6447 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (SBU) On November 2, MFA officer Sebnem Incesu reiterated Turkey's commitment to assisting Pakistan. As noted in ref B, Turkey's initial pledge of USD 150 million led the list of international donors in terms of dollar amount. Incesu stated that a final decision regarding what additional assistance Turkey might offer at the next donor conference should be forthcoming the week of November 7. ¶2. (SBU) According to the MFA, Turkey has thus far donated supplies and equipment totaling USD 12.6 million and plans to provide a total of USD 24.1 million. In addition it has sent seventy search and rescue personnel, 156 Red Crescent personnel, three ambulances, three search dogs, six vehicles, one motorcycle, and a fifty-bed capacity field hospital. ¶3. (SBU) As of October 31, Turkey has provided USD 68 million of the USD 150 million it has pledged, but it remains unclear how much was donated to humanitarian assistance and how much to reconstruction. Incesu agreed to clarify this for us the week of November 7. In regards to the UN flash appeal, Turkey plans to provide a total of USD 3 million to UN organizations as follows: -- UNDP USD 500,000 -- UNICEF USD 500,000 -- WHO USD 500,000 -- WFP USD 750,000 -- UNHCR USD 500,000 -- OCHA USD 250,000 ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Due to the end of Ramazan holiday, which begins at 13:00 in Turkey on November 2 and lasts through November 6, many GOT officials are away from the office. Post will follow-up with the MFA during the week of November 7 to determine Turkey's plans for the upcoming donor conference. End comment. MCELDOWNEY