GERMAN RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON PAKISTAN DONORS

UNCLAS BERLIN 001605 SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA/PB(TOWNSWICK),EUR/AGS(SCHROEDER), EEB/IFD/ODF AND IO/EDA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL GM PK SUBJECT: GERMAN RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON PAKISTAN DONORS CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 124618 ¶B. BERLIN 1548 ¶1. On December 1, Econoff met with Gudrun Sraega, Head of Division, South Asia, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to encourage German participation in the proposed December 16 Pakistan Donors Conference in New York (ref A). Other than a recent inquiry by the Japanese, Sraega said she had not been aware of plans for such a conference. In response to her question, Econoff explained that the proposed event was unrelated to the activities of the Friends of Pakistan or the Frontier Trust Fund. Sraega was very curious as to the level of U.S. participation. She also requested more details on the guest list and organization of the event, which Econoff subsequently provided. ¶2. As Sraega only learned of the conference through the demarche, she was unable to provide details of Germany's participation in the event or planned contribution. Citing his busy schedule, she said she doubted Foreign Minister Steinmeier would be able to attend, though she did not rule it out. She noted that Germany would in any event send a representative, but was unsure whether representation would come from the Foreign Ministry or Development Ministry. She was pessimistic Germany would be able to make a significant contribution at such short notice, beyond what it has already committed to provide in other fora (ref B). ¶3. Demarche points were also shared with contacts at the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. TIMKEN JR