ARAB FUND HOSTS RARE DONOR COORDINATION EVENT

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000185 SIPDIS SENSITVE; SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB; STATE PASS TO USAID, MCC AMMAN PASS TO USAID DIRECTOR AARNES C O R R E C T E D C O P Y E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID EFIN ETRD PREL KU SUBJECT: ARAB FUND HOSTS RARE DONOR COORDINATION EVENT REF: (A) 06 Kuwait 4489 (B) Kuwait 111 ¶1. (SBU) On February 4, the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development (Arab Fund) hosted a unique donor coordination event designed to promote dialogue and increased cooperation between leading Arab and international donors. Nine Arab organizations that comprise the Arab FundQs joint secretariat attended (and which together represent more than USD 80 billion in annual expenditures),along with twenty international organizations, including the World Bank and Japanese, Canadian, and European development and lending agencies (see the complete list in para 16). The U.S. was represented by USAID/Jordan Director and Embassy Kuwait's Economic Counselor. Outcomes -------------- ¶2. (SBU) As the goals of the event were modest, with no pretense of formulating a joint action plan or communiqui, much was achieved simply by gathering twenty-nine leading donor organizations together under one roof. Seeking to build upon statements professed throughout the day on the utility of better coordination among donors, the Arab Fund's Director General Abdulatif Hamad, who hosted the event, urged participants to end the day with something concrete. While during open discussion in the afternoon there was talk of forming a joint secretariat and creating a donor website, in the end the primary take-away was agreement on the utility of meeting annually, with the Arab Fund, the World Bank, and the OECD's Development Assistant Committee (DAC) agreeing to serve as shepherds of the process, as a "troika of three equals" (see also para 11). Format -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The format of the one-day event consisted of a series of brief presentations (7-10 minutes) by each of the participating organizations. Most described the mission statement of their organizations and highlighted a few key activities. Remarkably, every presenter kept to the time limit, and the event was able to conclude on time with a forty-five minute open discussion late in the afternoon. Presentations were technical with a focus on development activities, priorities, and challenges. There was an absence of pontificating, no comment on U.S. policy in the region, and almost no mention of Iraq. Highlights -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Highlights from some of the presentations included: - Yemen and Lebanon were cited as important countries for more coordination in several of the presentations. - The Arab Monetary Fund speaker chided the IMF for not sending a representative despite being invited. - The Canadian CIDA representative was one of the few participants to highlight the importance of international cooperation on development for Iraq and noted the urgency of moving forward on the Iraq Compact. - The Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organization was one of the only Arab donor organizations to note the importance of women's empowerment and to highlight the critical role of civil society in development. - The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development called on Arab donors to prioritize efforts to promote sound water conservation practices in the Middle East. - The IDB emphasized the power of investment to increase private sector engagement as well as to promote poverty alleviation. - The Dutch fielded the largest delegation, with four representatives including the Dutch Ambassador to Kuwait. - It was apparent from the presentations that the Arab core group already does a significant amount of coordination through regular meetings. The level of mutual knowledge between the Arab and international side, however, was not particularly high, and a number of participants remarked on how little they knew about each otherQs activities, even while engaged in some of the same countries. USAID Intervention -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In her remarks, USAID/Jordan Director Anne Aarnes highlighted USAIDQs partnership with host governments, civil society, and the private sector in development activities. She stressed the U.S. administration's continued commitment to foreign assistance, as well as its renewed focus on performance, results, and accountability. She explained the principles that underlie U.S. assistance, described region-wide emphases on youth, water and good governance, and offered concrete examples of U.S. programs making a difference in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and elsewhere in the region. Positive Reactions -------------- ¶6. (SBU) During the closing dinner hosted by the Arab Fund, both the host of the Donors Coordination Event and attendees seemed equally pleased at the outcome of the first joint forum. Arab Fund representative Ali Thunyan Al-Ghanim noted to Econoff that last year, after repeated requests for meetings, the Arab donors agreed for the first time to invite international aid organizations to participate in their annual discussions. Other participants seemed pleased with the scope of the day's discussion and eager to continue the dialogue. Richard Manning, OECD Chairman of the Development Assistance Committee and a co-moderator for the event, was initially surprised when asked to co-moderate the event but noted that the initial foray into an expanded forum went well. Arab Fund indicated it would publish minutes of the discussion in the near future. Meetings with Arab Fund and Kuwait Fund -------------- ¶7. (U) On February 5, USAID Aarnes met separately with Arab Fund Director-General Abdulatif Al-Hamad to discuss impressions of the event and next steps. Al-Hamad, who has 46 years of experience in development work, described the Donors Coordination Event as very useful and very valuable.Q He reiterated that it was important to renew the links between Arab aid organizations and international organizations, noting that these relationships had been neglected since the mid 1980s. Al-Hamad emphasized that all of the present leaders of Arab aid organizations are professionals with long years of experience and deep expertise in regional development issues. He added that major institutions such as the Arab Fund, the Kuwait Fund, the Saudi Arabia Fund, and the Islamic Development Bank are all well established, sufficiently capitalized, and professionally managed organizations, capable of maintaining robust programs regardless of shifting politics. Additionally, these institutions serve as a source of not only finance but also expertise and management, frequently executing grants and loans on behalf of donor governments. He highlighted that the Arab Fund was fully self-sustaining through disciplined management of its endowment and that the Fund has never had to turn down a project due to a lack of funding. He added that it was in the self-interest of aid recipients to make payments on- time since a delay in payment of greater than 90 days would result in suspension and denial of access to future support. ¶8. (U) Al-Hamad said the Arab Fund would earn 122 million Kuwaiti Dinars (427 million USD) this year and expend 5 million Kuwaiti Dinars (17.5 million USD) in operating costs. The Fund manages approximately 5.5 billion USD in annual commitments. Al-Hamad proudly stated that the Fund's average project cycle, the time between receiving a formal proposal and granting approval, was only 90 days. Referring to the Fund's unique expertise and deep experience in development projects in the region, he said, The World Bank is a supermarket; the Arab Fund is a boutique. Al-Hamad also touted the Arab Fund's flexibility in combining long-term planning and short-term response to ad hoc requests. He said the Fund is also willing and able to complement the work done by other organizations and to fill in the funding gaps that other organizations are unable to cover. ¶9. (U) Regarding the FundQs operating philosophy, Al-Hamad noted that the organization generally does not maintain a physical presence in recipient countries, preferring to monitor projects remotely and allow the recipient governments to directly manage day-to-day operations. He admitted that a scarcity of human resources the Fund has only 180 permanent staff is another reason for this hands-off approach. With regard to implementation, Al- Hamad also feels strongly that development organizations should respect the local expertise of the host government rather than impose rigid practices which may be not be appropriate for the local operating environment. ¶10. (SBU) On next steps, Al-Hamad said coordination should be led by a troika of three equals: the Arab Fund, the World Bank, and the OECD Development Assistance Committee. These three organizations will next meet at the World Bank in April. He then envisions an annual get-together of all of the Arab donor organizations, at which the make-up of the attendees (senior management, country management, or field operators) would be tailored to a pre-selected theme and agenda which could focus on a country, a sector, or a functional area. He emphasized that he expects this coordination to remain an informal process, without the creation of special staffs or institutions. ¶11. (SBU) Following her meeting with Al-Hamad, Aarnes met with Director-General of the Kuwait Fund Abdulwahab Al- Bader. Al-Bader shared Al-HamadQs view that the Donor Event had been an excellent opportunity for the different organizations to get to know one another. He said that although many of the organizations had worked together to co-finance projects, there were still many things they did not know about one another. Furthermore, he said, some of the organizations have had coordination problems which could perhaps be overcome by building closer institutional and personal relationships. He felt that the event had been an excellent first step which he hoped would evolve into more regular meetings which could focus more on substantive issues. ¶12. (SBU) Al-Bader explained that the Kuwait Fund, with a staff of 400, operates based on a 5-year plan with a cap on annual commitments of 200 million KD (700 million USD). Fifty percent of its commitments must go to Arab countries. Like the Arab Fund, the Kuwait Fund does not maintain a permanent presence in recipient countries. Al-Hamad expressed interest in learning more about how USAID operates and in receiving more visits from USAID representatives passing through the region. He also requested more information about the Millennium Challenge Corporation following Aarnes explanation of the MCCs background and objectives. ¶13. (SBU) Regarding aid to Iraq, Al-Hamad expressed frustration at the Government of Iraq's shifting priorities for reconstruction and lack of focus. He said that in Iraq, it was impossible to manage projects by remote control because of corruption, but also impossible to send staff from the fund to oversee projects due to the security situation on the ground. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) This donor coordination event, while modest, was a positive beginning. The Arab Fund drew kudos throughout the day for initiating the event, hosting it in resplendent surroundings in the magnificent Arab Fund building in downtown Kuwait. With continued commitment from the organizations involved, this forum could evolve into a significant coordination mechanism. ¶15. (SBU) Embassy Kuwait greatly appreciates the support and interest of USAID and wishes to thank in particular USAID/Jordan Director Aarnes for her participation and contribution to the success of the event. Participants -------------- ¶16. (U) Following is a list of organizations that attended: a) Arab Core Group - Abu Dhabi Fund for Development - Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) - Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development - Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations - Arab Monetary Fund - Islamic Development Bank (IDB) - Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development - Opec Fund for International Development - Saudi Fund for Development b) International Donors - Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) - Asian Development Bank (ADB) - Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) - Department for International Development (DFID UK) - Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) - European Commission External Relations - European Investment Bank - German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development - International Development Research Center (IDRC) - International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) - Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) - Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - KFW Entwicklungsbank (German Reconstruction Bank) - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) - Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) - The World Bank - United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ¶17. (U) USAID/Jordan Director Anne Aarnes has cleared this cable. Tueller