UPDATE ON ESTONIA'S DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 000432 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MOPS MARR EUN EN SUBJECT: UPDATE ON ESTONIA'S DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO AFGHANISTAN REF: A) 06 TALLINN 311 B) 06 TALLINN 1131 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Afghanistan remains one of the Government of Estonia's (GOE) highest foreign policy priorities. The GOE has been increasing its direct development assistance to Afghanistan since 2006, to balance its military presence in the country. The presence of Estonia's first diplomat on the ground has produced tangible results (e.g., hospital equipment for a Helmand hospital) and improved the optics of Estonia's presence in Helmand. Despite recently sustaining casualties in Helmand, Estonia is committed to having a presence -- civilian and military -- in Afghanistan. End Summary. Improving the Substance and Optics of Assistance -------------- --- ¶2. (U) Afghanistan continues to be one of Estonia's highest foreign policy priorities. In January 2006, the GOE increased both its military contribution and development assistance to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan (Ref A). The GOE has consistently highlighted its commitment to NATO's mission in Afghanistan with visits at the highest level by the Prime Minister in December 2006 (Ref B) and Defense Minister in September 2006 and again this coming fall. ¶3. (U) Prior to 2006, the GOE's development assistance was limited to financial donations to international organizations (IOs) and NGOs operating in Afghanistan. From 2000 to 2005, the GOE donated $200,170 for humanitarian assistance and counter-narcotics programs to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR),UN Development Program (UNDP),and the Red Cross. However, in line with Estonia's military presence in Helmand, the MFA felt strongly that it needed to balance the optics of Estonia's presence with a visible development and reconstruction agenda. As a result, in June 2006, the MFA sent its first diplomat to Afghanistan and initiated a provincial reconstruction project in Helmand. Work on the Ground -------------- ¶4. (U) Estonia's assistance budget in Afghanistan is relatively small - $100,000 for Helmand, out of the MFA's total 2006 development assistance budget of $1.47 million. The MFA recognized that this would require Estonia's assistance to focus on projects where the aid could have an immediate and/or visible impact on the community. In November 2006, the MFA initiated a donation of $94,453 worth of medical equipment to the Children's Department of Bost Hospital, Helmand Province's main hospital. Recently back from Afghanistan, Estonia's diplomat on the ground, Toomas Kahur, told us that even though the hospital donation was important, establishing a diplomatic presence in Helmand was Estonia's most significant achievement in ¶2006. ¶5. (SBU) As the MFA's first major out-of-area development assistance project, Afghanistan has presented unique challenges. Not surprisingly, according to Kahur, the two biggest challenges have been logistics and security. Kahur spent over a third of his time in Afghanistan traveling between Kabul and Helmand. While the MFA has indicated that it would like to have two diplomats in Afghanistan (one in Kabul and the other in Helmand),it also acknowledges that personnel limitations make an increase in staffing unlikely in the short to mid-term. The MFA is concerned that logistical difficulties may increase in the short term. The Estonians stationed in Afghanistan, both military and civilian, are largely dependent on UK logistical support for travel between Helmand and Kabul. Kahur said that due to the limited number of UK helicopters and planes, there were often delays. He is concerned that these delays are likely to grow given that the UK took over responsibility for Kandahar (an important transfer hub) from the U.S. in June. ¶6. (SBU) The security situation placed strict limitations on Kahur throughout his tenure. Kahur told us that whenever he went outside the UK base he had to be escorted by an Estonian Close-Protection-Team. This extra security came at the cost of mobility and, therefore, limited his range of operations. Moreover, civilians are not allowed to leave the base when the UK TALLINN 00000432 002 OF 002 forces deem threat levels as high. This is a frequent occurrence in Helmand -- which is the epicenter of poppy production in Afghanistan and has seen an increase in the level of Taliban activity and attacks over the last year. Kahur admitted that he was often far more productive in Kabul in exploring assistance projects for Helmand than in Helmand itself. However, Kahur was optimistic that the widening network of contacts he established among NGOs, IOs, and other countries' missions operating in Helmand will enable the MFA to expand its activities in spite of the security restraints. ¶7. (SBU) On June 27, Kahur's replacement, former Estonian DCM in Washington Andres Kolk, left for Afghanistan. He will have an increased assistance budget of $120,000 for 2007 and the flexibility to decide on project priorities. In the mid-term, MFA Security and Arms Control Director Arti Hilpus told us, the MFA envisions complimenting its diplomatic presence with an Estonian development/humanitarian assistance specialist, medical doctor, and/or civil engineer who could to take a more pro-active role in the implementation and supervision of assistance projects. Hilpus added that in the long term, he would like to see Estonia's development and reconstruction assistance become larger and more visible than Estonia's military contribution. ¶8. (SBU) Comment. While the MFA's 2007 assistance budget for Helmand is small in absolute terms, it represents one of the its larger projects. Even with recent casualties, that included two killed, in Helmand on June 23 (septel),Estonia's political leaders and MOD and MFA interlocutors have expressed their commitment to Estonia's presence in Afghanistan, on both the military and civilian side. PHILLIPS