JAPAN ON FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 003144 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA HAYDEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER ECON EAID PK JA SUBJECT: JAPAN ON FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN MEETING REF: STATE 119783 Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d ) ¶1. (C) Japan looks forward to the November 17 Friends of Pakistan meeting in Abu Dhabi, and will be represented by MOFA Director General for Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Hiroshi Inomata, according to Southwest Asia Division Deputy Director Takehiko Wajima. DG Inomata will be accompanied by Southwest Asia Division Director Masato Otaka. ¶2. (C) Wajima was grateful to receive reftel talking points and reported they had also been transmitted by Japan's embassy in Washington. A telephone conversation to discuss the meeting was planned between DG Inomata and SCA A/S Boucher, but had to be canceled at the last moment. According to Wajima, Inomata would have conveyed that Japan is in accord, for the most part, with our points. Tokyo hopes Pakistan and the IMF will be able to reach an agreement soon that will help alleviate Islamabad's financial difficulties, but is concerned about what will happen if an accord is reached but the amount agreed upon falls short of what is needed. While Japan realizes and agrees that the Friends of Pakistan is not meant to be a donor group, Wajima said it might be useful to discuss what action should be taken in the event there is a funding gap between what is offered by the IMF and what is needed. ¶3. (C) With regard to the creation of a Frontier Trust Fund, Wajima said that while Japan can support this in principal, Tokyo questions how this fund will be put to use or administered in the absence of a significant improvement in the security conditions in the border areas. Japan would also like to hear more clearly the role Pakistan will play in the plan, according to Wajima, who noted that Tokyo would like to see clear Pakistani ownership in the process. ¶4. (C) Wajima suggested that the subject of membership might also be discussed, noting that most of the current members of the Friends come from western countries. Japan would like to explore the possibility of balancing the membership by adding some Asian members. Wajima mentioned, for example, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea. ¶5. (C) Using existing UN entities to establish a small Secretariat for the Friends "sounds like a reasonable idea" to Japan, said Wajima. However, Tokyo would like to know more about how such a secretariat would be funded. SCHIEFFER