Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ROME820
2005-03-10 17:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Rome
Cable title:  

IRAQ: ITALIAN ASSISTANCE TO DATE TOTALS EURO 78M

Tags:  EAID ECON EFIN IT IZ IRAQI FREEDOM 
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UNCLAS ROME 000820 

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EB/ODF (DE MARCELLUS)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN IT IZ IRAQI FREEDOM
SUBJECT: IRAQ: ITALIAN ASSISTANCE TO DATE TOTALS EURO 78M

REF: A. SECSTATE 36580

B. ROME 574

C. ROME 58

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly, not
for Internet publication.

UNCLAS ROME 000820

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EB/ODF (DE MARCELLUS)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN IT IZ IRAQI FREEDOM
SUBJECT: IRAQ: ITALIAN ASSISTANCE TO DATE TOTALS EURO 78M

REF: A. SECSTATE 36580

B. ROME 574

C. ROME 58

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly, not
for Internet publication.


1. (U) Summary: The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
reports the GOI spent Euro 78 million ($101 million) on Iraq
aid in 2003-2004. For 2005, the GOI plans to disburse about
Euro 30 million ($39 million) in additional reconstruction
assistance, though this figure represents an estimate, rather
than a hard budget number. End summary.


2. (SBU) Poloffs and Econoff simultaneously delivered ref A
points to Luigi Maccotta, Director of the Iraq Task Force at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),and Frederica Ferrari
Bravo, MFA Development Cooperation Office Director for the
Middle East. Maccotta's office provided a written response
stating that in 2003 and 2004 Italy provided Euro 45.8
million ($59.5 million, Euro=$1.30) in bilateral assistance
to Iraq and an additional Euro 32 million ($41.6 million) via
multilateral channels. (Note: The GOI considers all of this
money as falling under its Euro 200 million Madrid pledge.
However, Euro 1.3 million ($1.7 million) was for delivery of
medicine and food aid in the months immediately following the
ground war and probably does not fit the USG definition of
reconstruction assistance. End note.)


3. (SBU) MFA Task Force member Damiano Francovigh told Poloff
that the MFA Directorate for the Mediterranean and Middle
East had a budget of Euro 14 million ($18.2 million) for new
Iraq assistance initiatives in 2005. Previously, Italian aid
officials told Econoff that the GOI also plans to make
another Euro 10 million ($13 million) donation to the
International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI)
in 2005. These funds do not include money that will be spent
by other Italian ministries. For example, the Ministry of
Innovation and Technology plans to spend Euro 3-4 million in
2005 on its program to provide the Iraqi government with a
basic computer networking infrastructure (ref C). The
Ministry of the Environment also plans to continue funding
its "New Eden" marshland restoration project in Iraq with an
additional 2005 donation of up to Euro 6 million. Assuming
all these funds materialize, GOI disbursements for 2005 would
be around Euro 30 million ($39 million). Embassy, however,
notes that Italy is facing another difficult budget year (ref
B),meaning additional delays in disbursements are possible.

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2005ROME00820 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED