USAU MEETING WITH UK AND FRENCH AMBASSADORS ON

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 000695 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/FO, AF/RSA, AF/E E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MOPS AU SUBJECT: USAU MEETING WITH UK AND FRENCH AMBASSADORS ON MARCH 1, 2007 ¶1. (U) Summary - March 1, 2007 USAU Calls Group Meeting with, UK and French to discuss International Donor/Partner information sharing and the formation of the AU Strategic Planning Cell and its support to AMISOM. ¶2. (U) Participants: AMB Cindy Courville, US Ambassador to the AU; AMB Robert Dewar, UK Ambassador to Ethiopia/AU; AMB Stephanie Gompertz, French Ambassador to Ethiopia/AU; COL Timothy Rainey, US Army, Senior Liaison Officer, US Mission to the AU; CAPT William Couch, US Navy, Liaison Officer, CJTF-HOA; Ms. Julie Chappell, Regional Conflict Advisor to AMB Dewar ¶3. (U) Background ) The meeting participants discussed two main topics: (1) the general concern among many of the international donors/partners of the perceived lack of information-sharing by the AU in regards to the deployment of Ugandan forces to Somalia; and (2) the general status of the implementation of the AU,s Strategic Planning Cell and it,s ramifications on the upcoming AMISOM deployment. ¶4. (U) International partners have communicated a requirement to see concrete mission plans before they pledge resources. There is little capacity or expertise to produce the necessary planning documents that would help articulate and describe the AMISOM mission because there is effectively no AU strategic planning cell at this time. The AU needs money and resources from the partners to produce the plans, but without those plans the partners are hesitant to produce the necessary resources. ¶5. (U) Discussion - It was generally recognized that detailed operational planning for AMISOM should already be in progress; however, the current pace of strategic and operational planning is slow and unsatisfactory. This situation has frustrated partners who feel that information on the deployment is not being shared and that they have no venue in which to contribute to the operational planning. ¶6. (U) There is also dissatisfaction that some non-African countries who have not pledged any monetary or material support to the AU have not been invited to contribute to the operational planning. ¶7. (U) USAU, France and UK, as members of the Core Group of countries who have formally pledged support, have agreed to create a venue that is &inclusive8. The objective of this meeting will be to share and discuss information and how partners who have yet to identify support for the deployment of AMISOM may provide support.. Participants also discussed that personnel and resources to augment the planning cell were slow in materializing and this was having an impact on the planning for the AMISOM deployment and international donor support. ¶8. (U) AU Peace Support Operations Department (PSOD) on 26 FEB released a request to partners for specific operational planners to augment the AU Strategic Planning Cell (sent by unclassified cable). Both the UK and US Ambassadors stated SIPDIS that they would be working hard to get their capitals to immediately release funding to outfit (furniture, office equipment, telephones, computers, etc.) the planning cell. Participants also discussed providing funding to sponsor TCC planners in Addis Ababa. The French Ambassador stated that France was preparing to deploy an assessment team to Burundi. ¶9. (U) Way Forward - All three Ambassadors agreed to chair a meeting to provide clarification of information so as to generate greater cooperation among the greater international donor/partner community. It was tentatively agreed to present briefing on Wednesday, March 3rd from 1500-1700. It was proposed that the US, UK and France develop and present an up-to-date status of the political, military and civilian components of the AMISOM mission to the partner community. The Embassies would jointly develop the presentation with the objective of mitigating potential partner concerns and addressing any outstanding issues. A critical part of the presentation will be to outline critical needs and potential candidates to address those needs. Additional partners from the UN, EU/EC countries, AU countries, Japan, and China would be invited to attend. COURVILLE YAMAMOTO