DONOR COORDINATION CONFERENCE: WHERE IS THE USG?

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000111

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR DAS GRAY, EB FOR PDAS DIBBLE; STATE PASS USAID FOR
KUNDER FROM AMBASSADOR LEBARON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2012
TAGS: ECON EFIN EAID KU XF
SUBJECT: DONOR COORDINATION CONFERENCE: WHERE IS THE USG?

REF: A. 06 KUWAIT 4489


B. EMBASSY KUWAIT-NEA/ARP/USAID EMAILS

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for Reasons 1.4 (d)


1. (C/NF) I am extremely disappointed by the lack of
high-level Washington-based USG representation at the donor
coordination conference the Arab Fund is hosting in Kuwait on
February 4. It is difficult for me to accept that we cannot
offer at least one senior representative from Washington,
from either State or USAID, to attend this meeting, which
Washington has been aware of for several months (reftels).
In the last six months, we have asked Kuwait (in addition to
requests to other Arab donors who will be represented) for
financial support for Lebanon (beyond the USD 500 million
deposited in the Lebanese Central Bank last August) and for
Yemen; to host a meeting of the Iraq Compact, which Kuwait
did; and most recently to support World Bank and IMF
proposals to eliminate Liberian arrears. A request for
Kuwaiti support for our efforts in Somalia is also under
consideration. A number of senior-level State and Treasury
officials have in fact met with the Arab Fund host in the
past and encouraged the very able DG of the Arab Fund to host
just such a meeting as they are now doing.


2. (C/NF) All of this points to the fact that a donor
coordination event, which brings together all of the major
donors in this region for a day of program review, priority
setting, and networking, ought to be something that the USG
feels obliged to attend, and committed to doing so. Given
our collective interest in increased Arab aid to Iraq,
Lebanon, Yemen, and the Palestinians, not to mention our
foreign policy goals in Africa, we ought to be sending a
robust delegation, and conveying our interest and commitment.
We are delivering exactly the opposite message to Arab and
foreign donors, and to Kuwait. I am delighted that Anne
Aarnes from USAID Jordan will attend, but I hope State and
USAID can muster up a greater show of support and interest.
As a government, we spend a lot of capital insisting that
Arab donors cooperate with the donor coordination events that
we sponsor -- we can't forget that this is a two-way street.

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Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
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LEBARON