POLAND ON INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT CONFERENCE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000468

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2018
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN KDEM NATO PGOV PREL AF PL
SUBJECT: POLAND ON INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT CONFERENCE ON
AFGHANISTAN

REF: STATE 32155

Classified By: Economic Counselor Richard Rorvig for reasons: 1.4(b, d)


1. (SBU) Summary: So far Polish officials have not begun
to discuss whether to make a pledge at the Afghanistan
Conference in Paris in June, let alone the possible amount.
Like other European governments, they have been thinking of
the Conference in purely political terms. Nevertheless,
Afghanistan is a "priority country" for Polish development
assistance. Poland continues to fund several development
projects implemented through non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and as civil-military projects. An inter-agency group
has been set up to examine the possibility of leading a
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT),but the decision to
lead one has not been taken, and no information is available
regarding the composition or funding for the civilian
component of a potential PRT. End summary.

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No Decision on Whether to Pledge
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2. (SBU) On April 11, EmbOffs delivered reftel demarche to
Ilona Korchut, who handles Afghanistan matters in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Development
Cooperation and to Dominik Malek, the MFA's Afghanistan desk
officer. They stated that the exact purpose of the
Conference still has to be decided, and that European nations
have been thinking of the Conference chiefly in political
terms. Malek noted that on April 9, representatives of EU
Member States met to discuss the Conference, but the
discussion was entirely political. Neither Korchut nor Malek
could say anything about whether Poland would make a pledge,
let alone what the amount of any pledge might be. Korchut
also noted that Poland cannot make a multi-year pledge
because of how its budget process works. Malek stated that
Poland is a relatively poor country whose top development
priorities were neighboring Ukraine and Belarus. According
to the Polish Ministry of Finance, there is no
government-to-government debt owed by Afghanistan to Poland.

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Afghanistan "Priority Country" For Development Aid
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3. (SBU) Korchut stated that Afghanistan was declared a
"priority country" for Polish development assistance in 2004.
Since then, about 20 Polish-funded projects have been
undertaken, either through NGOs or as civil-military
projects. The Department of Development Cooperation's 2006
report lists three projects implemented in Afghanistan in
2006 by NGOs: (1) construction of school facilities and water
tanks in Afghanistan, (2) facilitating access to potable
water for the inhabitants of Kapisa province, and (3)
reconstruction and expansion of an operating theater in
Mazar-e Sharif. In 2006, Poland spent PLN 1,661,253 on these
projects. Korchut stated Poland spent PLN 8 million on five
projects implemented through NGOs, and another 11
civil-military projects, in 2007. In 2008, the budget calls
for expenditures of PLN 8.5 million. No decisions have been
made yet for 2009. Korchut noted that one problem has been
the difficulty in finding partners (i.e., NGOs) wanting to
work in Afghanistan. (Note: If one looks at the trend of
Polish support in dollar terms, it is important to bear in
mind the decline the dollar against the zloty. At the end of
2006, 1 USD equalled PLN 2.91. As of April 15, 1 USD = PLN
2.16. End note.)


4. (SBU) EconOff stated that the Afghan Ministry of
Finance's list of donor contributions lists a Polish pledge
of USD 100,000 in 2004, which the Afghans did not show as
having been committed or disbursed. Malek, who recently
returned from a six-month posting in Kabul, noted there is a
difference between funds provided to the Afghan government,
and funds expended for Afghan development. Korchut said she
would look into the matter further.

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Poland Still Examining A PRT
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5. (SBU) Emboffs askeed about support that might be
delivered through the civilian component of a Polish PRT.
Malek stated that a decision to lead a PRT has not been made.

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High-level discussions are continuing within the Polish
government. He asked how important it was to the USG that
Poland lead a PRT, adding that an inter-agency PRT group,
with representatives from the MFA, Ministry of Defense and
Ministry of Interior, had recently been set up, and would
have its first meeting in about two weeks.


6. (C) Korchut observed that there were different models of
PRT, and noted that the civil-military cooperation called for
by most PRT models was new to the Polish government. Malek
obliquely indicated that within the Polish government
communication between the civilian agencies and the Polish
military has been difficult. In any case, the shape of a
Polish PRT -- assuming there will be one -- should become
clearer once the inter-agency group begins to meet.
ASHE