UNRWA EMERGENCY APPEAL: AUSTRIA TO INCREASE

UNCLAS VIENNA 001239 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/IPA, EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAL PREF PREL IS AU EUN SUBJECT: UNRWA EMERGENCY APPEAL: AUSTRIA TO INCREASE CONTRIBUTION REF: A) STATE 65023 B) VIENNA 1235 Embassy Vienna conveyed ref (a) demarche to Austrian MFA Middle East Bureau on April 12. On April 14, EconPolCouns and Pol Unit Chief reiterated the request for an increased Austrian contribution to UNRWA during a meeting with A/S-equivalent Ralph Scheide and Israel/Palestine desk officer Wolfgang Lapuh (ref b). Lapuh said that MFA's Development Assistance Bureau had responded to the emergency appeal by substantially increasing Austria's annual contribution, to 1.5 million euros. Lapuh observed that this represented a multiple of Austrian assistance to RWA in pre-intifada days (roughly $300,000 per year) and nearly a doubling of the 2004 aid level. We thanked Scheide and Lapuh for their help in securing the additional funds. Brown