Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PARIS720
2008-04-15 15:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

FM KOUCHNER'S TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN

Tags:  PREL ECON FR AF 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8049
PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHFR #0720 1061550
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151550Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2631
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0618
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000720 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2018
TAGS: PREL ECON FR AF
SUBJECT: FM KOUCHNER'S TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN


Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor, Josiah Rosenblatt, for rea
sons 1.4(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000720

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2018
TAGS: PREL ECON FR AF
SUBJECT: FM KOUCHNER'S TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN


Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor, Josiah Rosenblatt, for rea
sons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. The main goals of FM Kouchner's April 11-12
visit to Afghanistan were to advance preparations for the
upcoming Afghanistan support conference, scheduled for June
12 in Paris, and to intensify contacts with Afghanistan's
regional neighbors. The trip was also designed to showcase
French civil and military support for Afghanistan's
reconstruction efforts, as highlighted by Kouchner's visits
to French and Canadian troops and to a local maternity
hospital. This was expected to be Kouchner's last visit to
the region before the June conference. End summary.


2. (C) On April 15, poloff discussed FM Bernard Kouchner's
April 11-12 visit to Afghanistan with Isabelle Dumont, the
Advisor who accompanied him on the trip. (NOTE: Isabelle
Dumont is normally Kouchner's Advisor for CIS and the
Balkans; however, as Kouchner's Afghanistan leg was added to
his Central Asia visit to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan,
Isabelle was the accompanying staffer). According to Dumont,
the main objective of the visit was for Kouchner to meet with
Afghanistan's leadership to gauge their support for the
upcoming conference on June 12. This support was strongly
confirmed by President Karzai, the President of the Afghan
Parliament and the Foreign Minister, all of whom expressed
their gratitude and a willingness to work together with the
French government to assure a successful conference. Karzai
is reportedly less comfortable with the French-proposed
NGO-component leading up to the conference, but understood
Kouchner's points and will not block this initiative.


3. (C) The military aspect of the trip was showcased when
Kouchner met up with his Canadian counterpart in Kandahar
where they jointly greeted French and Canadian troops
deployed there. Kouchner also visited a Canadian Provincial
Reconstruction Team (PRT) and was introduced to the local
police chief in Kandahar. In Kabul he made a special visit
to a maternity hospital sponsored by French charities. All
of the above were designed to underline France's commitment
to long-term engagement in the reconstruction effort in
Afghanistan.


4. (C) Dumont added that Kouchner came away from the trip
with a strong commitment to working with Afghanistan's
neighbors in the region, understanding that a narrow focus on
Afghanistan alone would not resolve many of their thorniest
issues (such as battling the counter-insurgency, the fight
against drug trafficking, etc). In particular, the porous
border with Pakistan presents a major challenge that the
Afghan government and international community must try to
address with both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dumont expected
that FM Kouchner would continue to emphasize this "regional
vision" in France's policy objectives for Afghanistan,
building on increased ties in Central Asia through the EU's
Central Asia policy framework.

Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm


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