FM AMADO TO ATTEND PARIS DONORS CONFERENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LISBON 003129 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2017 TAGS: KPAL IS PREL PGOV KWBG AMGT PO SUBJECT: FM AMADO TO ATTEND PARIS DONORS CONFERENCE REF: STATE 163955 ¶1. (C) DCM delivered reftel demarche on December 10 to MFA Chief of Staff Francisco Ribeiro de Menezes, who was accompanied by the Foreign Minister's diplomatic advisor, Paulo Lourenco. DCM was joined by pol/econ counselor. Ministerial attendance -------------- ¶2. (C) Ribeiro de Menezes confirmed that Foreign Minister Amado would lead Portugal's delegation to the Paris Donors Conference. He will be accompanied by Portugal's special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ambassador Luis Caetano de Almeida Sampaio; diplomatic advisor Paulo Lourenco; and Middle East/Maghreb director Isabel Pedrosa. He noted that Amado had agreed to host a Quartet meeting at Portugal's embassy in Paris on the afternoon of December 17. Portugal's contribution -------------- ¶3. (C) While Portugal's primary financial contributions would continue to be via the European Commission, Ribeiro de Menezes said Portugal also plans to announce a bilateral pledge in Paris. Lourenco said the precise amount of the pledge was still under consideration and would be earmarked to address any particular shortfalls in the Fayyad plan. Annapolis a success -------------- ¶4. (C) Ribeiro de Menezes told us that FM Amado had been "extremely encouraged" by his observations at the Annapolis meeting. His boss had been particularly impressed by the degree of political commitment demonstrated by all parties, including the United States, and was pleased that President Bush plans to visit the region early next year. Ribeiro de Menezes said the Portuguese government believed it had made a positive contribution to the peace process during its EU presidency. He noted the "very good Quartet meeting" in Lisbon at the outset of Portugal's presidency, and he thought Amado's several visits to the region had been helpful in delivering useful messages to key figures. There had been talk of Prime Minister Socrates visiting the Middle East, but the timing never seemed right, and the press of EU presidency business ultimately proved too big an obstacle. Stephenson