TURKEY: PARTICIPATION IN ISLAMABAD REGIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000602 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SE, SCA/RA MANUEL MILLER, SCA/FO ROBERT DEUTSCH E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2019 TAGS: PREL ECON ENRG ETRD KPWR EAID BEXP AF TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: PARTICIPATION IN ISLAMABAD REGIONAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN REF: SECSTATE 39779 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) We delivered reftel points April 24 to MFA South Asia Section Head Emre Karagol. Deputy U/S for South Asia, Middle East and Iran Feridun Sinirlioglu and Deputy DG for South Asia Babur Hizlan are in Washington April 20-25, having traveled there directly from Tokyo where they attended the Pakistan Donors Conference. As such, the Turks have not had the opportunity to focus on their objectives and prepare thoroughly for the conference. However, Karagol said his Directorate is recommending that Minister Babacan attend. We will follow up with the GOT on its conference objectives and planned attendance. ¶2. (C) Karagol had no substantive response to our points. He noted that Turkey remains interested in our ROZ proposal, and asked when the legislation would be adopted. Turkish companies may be well-positioned to take advantage of the ROZ initiative. Turkey may also be able to assist business-to-business dialogue. It is already facilitating Afghanistan-Pakistan business dialogue through the "Istanbul Forum" of the trilateral "Ankara Process." The Istanbul Forum is led by the national Chamber of Commerce organizations of the three countries. We noted to Karagol the importance of coordination among various international processes to avoid duplicative efforts. ¶3. (SBU) Post elected not to coordinate this message with the Embassies of Afghanistan or Pakistan, but will consult with them separately. Turkey enjoys a special relationship with both countries and a joint demarche would likely not have been welcome by either side. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey