SPAIN SUPPORTS LEBANON CONFERENCE BUT WILL NOT

UNCLAS MADRID 000094 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EB/IFD/ODF (WAECHTER),NEA/ELA (ALLEN),AND EUR/WE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN EAID LE SP SUBJECT: SPAIN SUPPORTS LEBANON CONFERENCE BUT WILL NOT PLEDGE ADDITIONAL FUNDS REF: SECSTATE 2781 ¶1. ESTHOFF passed reftel points January 10 to several senior level contacts in the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI),urging Spain to dispatch a ministerial-level delegation to the January 25 Lebanon conference in Paris and to announce additional financial support for Lebanon at the conference. AECI informed ESTHOFF January 18 that Foreign Minister Moratinos will head the Spanish delegation in Paris, but that Spain will not/not announce any new contribution for Lebanon at this time. ¶2. Spain announced a 31.5 million euro contribution for Lebanon at the August 2006 Stockholm conference. 6.5 million euro of the 31.5 million euro was for emergency humanitarian assistance in the immediate aftermath of the war. The remaining 25 million euro is targeted at development/reconstruction assistance. 5 million euro of this 25 million euro was obligated and spent in late 2006. 10 million euro of the remaining 20 million euro will be provided in 2007 and the final 10 million euro in 2008. Aguirre