IRISH RESPONSE TO DEMARCHES ON U.S.-EU

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000683 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015 TAGS: ASEC PREL EUN SUBJECT: IRISH RESPONSE TO DEMARCHES ON U.S.-EU INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IRAQ REF: A. STATE 93742 ¶B. STATE 103222 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Benton; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (U) On June 2, Post delivered ref A talking points to Stephen Dawson, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) First Secretary for the Middle East and North Africa. Dawson said SIPDIS that the Commission has been in touch with Member States about the June 21-22 U.S.-EU International Conference on Iraq, though Ireland has not yet received an invitation. Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and DFA Political Director David Cooney plan to represent Ireland at the conference, assuming that Minister Ahern's duties as UNSYG Annan's Special Envoy for UN Reform do not require him to travel elsewhere on those dates. To Dawson's knowledge, Ireland does not intend to announce any new forms of support for Iraq at the conference. He noted that senior GOI officials have made frequent public statements in the Irish Parliament in support of Iraq's political, security, and economic institutions. The GOI is also looking to allocate euro 1.5 million that has not yet been spent out of Ireland's original euro 3 million reconstruction pledge for Iraq. Dawson said that the lack of reconstruction activity has made it difficult for the GOI to identify recipients for the remaining funds. During the week of June 7, the GOI will host Iraqi Deputy Minister for Planning and Development Cooperation, Dr. Fa'aq Abdul Rasrul, and nine other Iraqi officials for a five-day program focused on Ireland's trade and investment model. Dawson offered to brief Post on the results of the visit. ¶2. (C) On June 3, the Ambassador and DCM discussed ref B talking points with DFA Secretary General Dermot Gallagher, who promised a more substantive response at a later time. Gallagher noted that Ireland planned to establish full diplomatic relations with Iraq, but did not intend to establish an Embassy as yet in Baghdad. KENNY