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