TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER PITCHES HIGH PROFILE BRIDGE OPENING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000044 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA FEIGENBAUMAND DEUTSCH E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/9/2017 TAGS: PREL EAID MASS KPAO TI AF SUBJECT: TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER PITCHES HIGH PROFILE BRIDGE OPENING REF: DUSHANBE 34 CLASSIFIED BY: Tracey Jacobson, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a January 4 meeting with the Ambassador (reftel),Tajik Foreign Minister Zaripov proposed a high profile opening for the United States Government funded bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan across the Pyanj river. The Embassy fully supports a strong public diplomacy package for the bridge opening, estimated for August 2007, and requests Department action to line up high-level attendees from both the Administration and Congress. Additional public diplomacy and security coordination will be required with Embassies Kabul and Islamabad to maximize the regional impact of the opening. The bridge at Nizhniy Pyanj is the largest United States Government funded infrastructure project in Tajikistan (one of the largest Army Corps of Engineers projects in the world) and will serve as a physical and symbolic link between Central Asia and South Asia through Afghanistan. See action request in para 6. End summary. Opening Day =========== ¶2. (SBU) Foreign Minister Zaripov asked the Ambassador to confirm that the USG-funded bridge at Nizhniy Pyanj, linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan, would open as planned in summer ¶2007. Referring to the most recent reports from our engineering team at the bridge site, the Ambassador reported that the bridge completion has already slipped from the June target date due to repeated delays in delivery of cement from the state-owned Tajik cement factory. Even since the latest "resolution" of the cement issue, the contractors have received approximately only two-thirds of the required deliveries. The Ambassador suggested August would be a safe target for an opening ceremony provided Tajikistan keeps to its cement delivery commitments, and noted that Washington officials tend to travel more in August as well. Zaripov promised to do what he could to facilitate the bridge project, including pushing for on-time cement deliveries. Zaripov agreed that both sides should aim for the bridge opening in August. Playing to the Crowd =============== ¶3. (C) Zaripov's proposal for the bridge opening includes attendance by both President Rahmonov and President Karzai. The twosome had attended the project's groundbreaking ceremony in 2005, and Zaripov noted that Karzai's New Year greeting to Rahmonov mentioned the bridge opening this summer. Zaripov asked what U.S. officials would attend and suggested including members of Congress. Tied to the ribbon cutting ceremony, Zaripov envisions launching a convoy of ten or more commercial trucks loaded with Tajik export goods and accompanied by international media. The convoy would cross the bridge to Afghanistan, travel through Kunduz, the Salang Tunnel, Kabul, and Kandahar and proceed through Baluchistan to either Karachi or Gwadar on the Pakistani coast. This trip of 3000 kilometers to an Indian Ocean port is dramatically less than the 7000 kilometers trade goods currently have to travel to the Baltic Sea. Accompanying the convoy would be representatives of international media, covering the stories of the bridge opening, Afghanistan's new roads, and regional integration in general. ¶4. (C) Even before we could raise the issue, Zaripov recognized the difficulties posed by security conditions in southern Afghanistan. He asked that the United States or the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) "guarantee" the security of the convoy, describing his vision of helicopter and troop escorts. We acknowledged the potential security issues and offered to raise these issues with Washington and our embassies in Kabul and Islamabad. ¶5. (C) Comment: Zaripov evidently learned a lot about public relations during his time as Ambassador in Washington. He understands that the bridge opening represents a tremendous opportunity to highlight Tajikistan's role in the region and its relevance to U.S. objectives in Afghanistan and greater Central Asia. His ideas about publicizing the opening of the bridge DUSHANBE 00000044 002 OF 002 strike us as being right on target. The bridge opening provides an unparalleled opportunity to demonstrate in concrete terms the benefits of regional integration between Central and South Asia. We understand the most difficult part of these arrangements will be security for a commercial and media convoy through southern Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Although road security conditions in August are difficult to predict at present, a preliminary assessment would help move plans forward. End Comment. ¶6. (C) Action Request: Post recommends the Department begin work now to identify appropriate high-level administration official(s) and member(s) of Congress to participate in an August event. We would also need assistance attracting appropriate international media to the opening events and coordinating a multi-day convoy from Tajikistan, through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the coast. Embassy Kabul's assistance will be required both to accommodate President Karzai's participation as well as to make appropriate security arrangements with Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan National Army for the proposed convoy. Embassy Islamabad and ConGen Karachi would also be involved. JACOBSON