PLEDGING AT THE PARIS SUPPORT CONFERENCE FOR

UNCLAS STATE 044359 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN KDEM PGOV PREL SUBJECT: PLEDGING AT THE PARIS SUPPORT CONFERENCE FOR AFGHANISTAN REF: STATE 32115 (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph nine. ¶1. (U) Summary: The United States views the upcoming Paris Support Conference for Afghanistan as an opportunity for the international community to reaffirm its long-term commitment for Afghanistan through support for the Afghanistan National Development Strategy and the 2009 and 2010 Afghan elections. The U.S. Government will encourage all of Afghanistan,s partners to pledge more than they did at the 2006 London Conference, surpassing the $10.5 billion pledge total achieved there, as a demonstration of this long-term commitment. Many donors have announced large pledges since the London Conference, and we encourage all donors to include all assistance announced since the London Conference and beyond in their pledges at Paris. The U.S. Government will also urge all donors to include funding for the 2009 and 2010 elections in their pledges, which the UN has estimated will cost $475 million. The need is immediate, as voter registration will begin this summer. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The United States applauds France's decision to set both political and financial objectives for the June 12 Paris Support Conference for Afghanistan. We look forward to joining our international partners to renew the international community's support for the Afghanistan Compact and to help raise new financial pledges to support the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (2008-2013) and upcoming 2009 and 2010 elections. We also urge donors to live up to previous, still-unfulfilled promises of assistance. ¶3. (U) Pledging is an important aspect of the Paris conference because it demonstrates our long-term commitment to Afghanistan. Donors are encouraged to pledge toward the needs identified in the Afghan Government,s Afghanistan National Development Strategy, which we anticipate the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will approve before the Paris conference. Our goal at the conference is to put money behind the plan. ¶4. (U) Donors are also urged to include funding for the 2009 and 2010 elections in their pledges at Paris. The need is immediate. Voter registration must begin this summer. The estimated cost of $100 million for registration is largely unmet. Unlike the 2004/2005 elections, when the international community had a direct technical role in �0A;implementation, the Afghan Government will take the lead in implementing the upcoming elections. To do so successfully, they need our financial support. The UN has estimated the elections will cost $475 million. The U.S. Government plans to include approximately $205 million specifically for election support in its Paris pledge and encourages other donors to make significant contributions as well. International support for voter outreach, election administration and observer training will also be crucial. Failure to support the elections will put the blooming democracy, in which Afghanistan and its partners have invested so much effort since 2001, at grave risk. ¶5. (U) There is no obvious target for pledging in Paris other than the five-year Afghanistan National Development Strategy's price tag of $50 billion over five years. The Government of Afghanistan has stated that toward the $50 billion, $7 billion will be available from Afghan revenues and $24 billion has already been pledged. However, a $50 billion pledge target is unrealistic, and we would set ourselves up for failure in the public eye if we announced it as such for Paris. We would also immediately find ourselves in a complicated exercise of accounting for old money versus new money if we break out the $50 billion according to existing contributions versus additional needs. ¶6. (U) In making pledges, the United States believes that donors should account for their respective pledges since the London Conference as well as any new pledges they plan to announce at Paris. If the international community agrees to abide by this method, we will reduce the inevitable confusion and undesirable complexity of debating old versus new money that often plagues such conferences. Standardizing our pledging will also dispel criticism that some donors are pledging old money. Rather, the measures of a successful conference will be whether the international community exceeded the pledge total in London - $10.5 billion -- and whether a large number of countries and organizations announces pledges. ¶7. (U) We understand that EU member states have already discussed a common no-pledging position for Paris and urge them to reconsider. There have been very significant contributions publicly announced in the past two years. For example, the United Kingdom pledged $1 billion over four years in late 2007, and the European Commission pledged $955 million for 2007 through 2010. EU donors should use the Paris Conference as an opportunity to ensure broad public recognition for their ongoing assistance, demonstrate the full range of their long-term commitment to Afghanistan, and back an Afghan Government-led effort to progress. We should all aim to pledge more than we did at the London Conference. ¶8. (U) In Paris, the United States will pledge money appropriated by or requested from Congress since the London Conference. This was also our approach in London. The U.S. pledge will be substantial. We hope also to maximize the number of countries and organizations that announce pledges to demonstrate continued long-term support for Afghanistan. ¶9. (U) Action Request: We request Embassies and USEU to approach senior-level government counterparts to encourage them to announce a pledge larger than they contributed at the London conference. Please also stress the urgent need for election support and encourage donors to provide funds specifically for elections in their pledges. Please report on whether counterparts agree with our approach to determining their pledges and any additional information received regarding counterparts' intended participation and pledging at the Paris Conference. Posts are requested to respond to this demarche to Washington no later than Wednesday, May 14, slugged for Lauren Frese (SCA/A). Embassy Kabul should inform the Afghan Government of the U.S. effort. USNATO and USUN may also draw on this cable as appropriate. RICE RICE