FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN MEETING IN ABU DHABI

UNCLAS STATE 119783

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER ECON EAID PK
SUBJECT: FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN MEETING IN ABU DHABI


1. (U) This is an action cable. See paragraph 3 request to
deliver talking points regarding the November 17 Friends of
Pakistan meeting. See also paragraph 4 requesting
information on host government actions in connection with the
security situation in Pakistan,s tribal belt.


2. (SBU) Background: There is high interest among members
of the Friends group about U.S. views on the next meeting as
well as on the future direction of the Friends group. The
Friends of Pakistan is a group of 15 nations/organizations
which first met in New York on September 26 at the
ministerial level to help the newly elected Pakistani
government deal with long term security and development
challenges. The next meeting will be hosted by the United
Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on November 17 at the senior
officials level. The U.S. delegation will be headed by SCA
PDAS Donald Camp. Although Pakistani Foreign Ministry
coordinators are still finalizing the agenda, we anticipate
the meeting will focus on a proposed work plan and
organizational issues. While we emphasize that the process
be Pakistani-led, we see value in informing other Friends of
our views.


3. (U) Action addressees are requested to make the
following points to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
advance of the November 17 meeting. They can be delivered in
the form of a non-paper.

Begin Talking Points:

-- The U.S. is committed to the Friends of Pakistan as a
forum in which to help the newly elected government deal with
a range of problems - from security to economic development.
We welcomed the broad high level participation at the meeting
in New York, and we encourage Members to send an appropriate
senior level official to the next meeting in Abu Dhabi on
November 17.

-- The Friends should be a Pakistani-led process. We
understand Pakistan will propose that the meeting in Abu
Dhabi be primarily an organizational one, including an
overview of their proposed plan of work. We understand they
are considering proposing experts' meetings on four specific
topics - security, development, energy, and institution
building - to be held in Islamabad, on December 4 and 5, and
January 15 and 16, respectively.

-- The Friends should not merely be a forum where Pakistan
presents a wish list of projects. We believe the purpose is
to engage the Pakistanis to think strategically about their
security and development needs, and to ensure that assistance
works with their proposed programs to effectively address the
challenges of the Pakistani people in a sustainable manner.
We need to work closely with the Pakistani government to
ensure that they take reforms necessary to make donor
assistance as effective as possible.

-- We have emphasized publicly and privately that the Friends
is not a donors' group, despite continuing press reports to
this effect. In the event that the Pakistani Government
reaches agreement with the International Monetary Fund before
November 17, the U.S. would welcome the agreement and support
convening of a donors' conference (under the auspices of the
World Bank and Government of Pakistan) at a future date in
the near-term to help fill the residual financing gap and as
appropriate consider funding programs to ease the impact of
economic reforms on the poorest Pakistanis. If a
Pakistan-IMF agreement is not reached before the November 17
Friends meeting, the U.S. will continue to press the
Pakistanis to reach an agreement.

-- Two areas where the United States believes international
donor coordination could be particularly effective are in the
economic development and security in the border regions.

-- Pakistan is considering a proposal to create a Frontier
Trust Fund, to be administered by the World Bank (similar to
the Afghan Reconstruction Fund). We support this idea and
urge other Members to do so as well. To provide direction
and integration of all elements of Pakistan,s efforts in the
frontier, we would encourage Pakistan to both approach the
World Bank to request the Fund and then to designate a high
level border coordinator who has a proven track record to
oversee the Trust Fund. This individual should be given
broad authority to coordinate the various development
activities and actors in the frontier.

-- The United States remains concerned with the ability of
terrorist groups to use the border areas of Pakistan to plan
and implement attacks against Pakistanis, Afghans, and
coalition and donor partners.

-- The U.S. believes the Friends can offer international
support for Pakistan,s effort to eliminate terrorist
safehavens in the Tribal areas.

-- We would welcome an update by Pakistan on current security
operations along the border, and how these activities fit
into its overall security strategy for tackling extremism in
the area. We are encouraged to see numerous Pakistani
officials express interest in security as an agenda item for
the Friends, and we look forward to hearing the Pakistan,s
plans and finding ways for the Friends to assist in
implementing them.

-- We expect that the agenda will include a discussion of the
role of the UN in the Friends. We understand the UN would be
willing to consider providing a small secretariat, and that
Jean Arnault, the former UN representative to Afghanistan, is
being considered to head this initiative. We strongly
support a role for Arnault and the UN in this regard.

End Talking Points.


4. (SBU) Action addressees are requested to approach host
governments for information on what diplomatic, developmental
and other actions they have taken in connection with the
security situation in Pakistan,s Tribal Belt. Posts should
report responses back to Washington by November 21.
RICE