SLOVAK PARTICIPATION IN OSLO DONOR'S CONFERENCE ON

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000262

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EAID ECON LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK PARTICIPATION IN OSLO DONOR'S CONFERENCE ON
SUDAN, APRIL 11-12

REF: SECSTATE 56724

(SBU) Poloff delivered reftel demarche March 30 to Peter
Hulenyi, Director of the Department for Development
Cooperation at the MFA. Hulenyi said State Secretary Jozsef
Berenyi had previously planned to attend the conference but
had decided to send Hulenyi instead after consultation with
the Slovak Ambassador in Oslo. The Slovak Government will
not announce any additional pledge for Sudan at the
conference. Hulenyi noted that the Slovak Government
provided Sudan 240,000 USD in 2004, including 20,000 Euros
in cash assistance for food aid. Hulenyi said that one third
of Slovakia's approximately five million USD bilateral
development and humanitarian assistance goes to Serbia and
Montenegro. The Slovak Government finds it difficult to
justify spending scarce development resources in a region
where it has no historical or cultural ties, although Sudan
remains one of Slovakia's thirteen priority donor recipients.
THAYER


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