POLAND: IRAQI DEBT FORGIVENESS AND PARTICIPATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 002846

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE TARA ERATH AND MICHAEL SESSUMS
STATE FOR NEA/I SHANE STRYZINSKI
STATE FOR EB/OMA RUSSEL FRISBIE AND TIM FORSYTH
PARIS FOR OTTO VAN MAERSSEN
TREASURY FOR OASIA MATTHEW GAERTNER
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/JBURGESS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2015
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN PREL IZ JO PL
SUBJECT: POLAND: IRAQI DEBT FORGIVENESS AND PARTICIPATION
IN THE DEAD SEA DONORS MEETING

REF: A. SECSTATE 127710


B. WARSAW 2593

C. WARSAW 0339

D. BAGHDAD 2938

Classified By: CDA Mary Curtin, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. The head of the Polish MFA's Iraq Task Team
relayed that Poland's Embassy in Amman will most likely
represent Poland at the upcoming Donors' Meeting at the Dead
Sea, and that Poland is not planning on committing any funds
to Iraq reconstruction in the immediate future, but is
concentrating on assisting Iraq through its deployed forces
and trainers. Poland has not yet decided on a specific
course of action with regards to Iraqi debt but expects to
discuss the issue in Baghdad during PM Belka's upcoming trip.
The GOP will also use Belka's trip to push Iraq for
commercial contracts in the oil sector. End summary.


2. (C) The head of the Polish MFA's Iraq Task Team,
Mieczyslaw Stepinski, said that Poland is not currently
planning on sending a delegation from Warsaw to the Dead Sea
Donors' Meeting from July 18-19. Instead, the Polish
Ambassador to Jordan or another Embassy official will likely
represent Poland at the conference. Stepinski said that as
Poland is not a donor country and is not in a position to
consider donating reconstruction funds to Iraq, it would not
make sense to send a Warsaw delegation for only one day of
meetings. Stepinski expressed a general willingness to
support Iraq in any appropriate way in establishing an
Iraqi-led donor coordination mechanism in Baghdad and looked
forward to hearing more on that subject.


3. (C) Stepinski said that the primary issue the Polish
government is currently discussing with regards to Iraq
assistance is Iraqi debt relief. Poland currently holds
$735.6 million in Iraqi debt, and is exploring at what level
it might forgive that debt. Stepinski said that the Polish
Minister of Finance, Miroslaw Gronicki, is currently
developing Poland's talking points on Iraq debt for PM
Belka's trip to Baghdad later this month. (NOTE: The Iraqi
Ambassador told econoff on July 1 that the ITG is likely to
raise Iraqi debt during its meetings with Belka in Baghdad.)


4. (C) Stepinski was not bullish on the likelihood of Poland
forgiving Iraqi debt in the near future. With the current
election season rapidly approaching, Stepinski did not think
the GOP would publicly broach what could be a politically
sensitive issue in the coming months.


5. (C) Stepinski also related that the Polish government is
still keenly interested in seeing Polish companies win
Iraq-related contracts. Stepinski described the Polish
business community involved in Iraq as a formidable lobbying
block that continues to engage the Polish government on
various levels to press for contracts in Iraq.


6. (C) Stepinski said that the government views the oil
sector as the best source of significant commercial deals for
Polish companies. Specifically, Stepinski said that Belka's
delegation will raise the tender for the rehabilitation of
the Subba oil field. According to Stepinski, the GOP
believes it is "due" a significant oil contract and will seek
to make good on a perceived promise from former Iraqi PM
Allawi for a contract to rehabilitate the Subba oil field.
Several Polish businessmen will accompany Belka to Baghdad,
including a representative of the Polish Chamber of Commerce.

CURTIN