SEEKING GUIDANCE FOR NOVEMBER 18 VIENNA FRIENDS OF

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000588 SIPDIS STATE PASS SCA, INL, EUR/RPM, E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID KCRM PREL PTER SNAR UN NATO AF SUBJECT: SEEKING GUIDANCE FOR NOVEMBER 18 VIENNA FRIENDS OF AFGHANISTAN MEETING REF: A. STATE 99177 ¶B. UNVIE 523 ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador will host the second meeting of the Vienna Friends of Afghanistan group (Ref b) on November 18. (Note: List of Friends follows in para 5. End Note.) UNODC Executive Director Antonio Costa has been invited to give a presentation on UNODC's activities in Afghanistan, as well as UNODC's response to an internal evaluation report of its Afghanistan operations. In addition, we have proposed a discussion of the October 10 decision taken by NATO defense ministers in Budapest regarding ISAF's role in counternarcotics operations in Afghanistan, a shift that Costa had strongly advocated. We will also seek to encourage continued close consultation between UNODC and NATO officials. This Friends meeting can be a useful venue to guage, very informally, member countries' reaction to this decision, and UNODC's views on how this can increase the effectiveness of counternarcotics operations in Afghanistan. ¶2. (SBU) At the end of the meeting, we plan to review areas for future discussions. France is prepared to host the third meeting of the Group and has suggested precursors and anti-corruptions as possible topics for future meetings. ¶3. (SBU) The full agenda for the meeting are: (i) Update from Afghan Mission in Vienna (ii) UNODC's activities in Afghanistan - Comprehensive overview - Response to recommendations from internal evaluation report (iii) Implication of NATO's Decision on ISAF's Role in Counternarcotics (iv) Areas of Future Discussions ¶4. (SBU) Mission requests Washington-cleared talking points for discussions on the third agenda item concerning the recent NATO decision on Afghan counternarcotics. We ask that these cover the U.S. planned response to the NATO decision plus any encouragement for other countries to take similar steps. We would also appreciate any thoughts about areas of future discussion for the Group. ¶5. (U) List of Vienna's Friends of Afghanistan Group: Austria Australia Canada Denmark France Germany India Italy Japan Netherlands Norway Sweden Turkey U.K. U.S. European Commission SCHULTE