CONCLUSIONS OF AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN STRATEGIC

UNCLAS BERN 000136

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/A (T.REOTT) AND EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS EAID PTER PGOV PK AF SZ
SUBJECT: CONCLUSIONS OF AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN STRATEGIC
REVIEW

REF: A. STATE 29482

B. BERN 120

C. STATE 24422

D. STATE 24367

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USG WHITE PAPER
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1. (SBU) Poloff provided a copy of the White Paper in reftel
A on March 27 to Pierre-Yves Fux, Senior Regional Coordinator
for Southern Asia at the Federal Department of Foreign
Affairs (FDFA). Fux appreciated the information, which he
said was timely, not only with regard to the upcoming
international conferences on Afghanistan (The Hague) and
Pakistan (Tokyo),but because Swiss development assistance
authorities currently are reviewing GOS assistance to
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Fux said that the Swiss
Development Corporation's (SDC) Deputy for Global
Cooperation, Joerg Frieden, will visit Islamabad and Kabul
the week of March 30 to review SDC development assistance
programs in both countries. Fux remarked that Frieden will
be the most senior SDC official to visit Kabul in years.
With regard to the conclusions of the USG's strategic review
of Afghanistan-Pakistan, Fux said that Switzerland is in
complete agreement that al Qaeda and the instability in the
region are a threat to the entire international community.
In reviewing the various agenda items, Fux commented that
Switzerland tends to look for innovative ways to contribute
to conflict resolution. In that context, he took note of the
White Paper's reference to efforts to integrate reconcilable
insurgents.

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AFGHANISTAN
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2. (SBU) Fux said that the SDC Director, Ambassador Martin
Dahinden, will lead the Swiss delegation to the March 31
international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague (reftel
C). He said that Switzerland would plan to "confirm its
commitments" to Afghanistan at the conference. With regard
to Swiss bilateral assistance to Afghanistan, Fux said that
the Swiss MOD had obtained approval to provide CHF 1.2
million (USD 1.1 million) in excess medical equipment to the
Afghan National Security Forces. He said that Switzerland
was still working on a project to assist with Border
Management training on the Afghan-Tajik border, though that
effort had gotten somewhat bogged down. He also mentioned
that Switzerland remains interested in projects focused on
the training of Afghan police women. Fux underlined that
Switzerland is seeking to use its limited resources in
Afghanistan (CHF 15-20/USD 13-18 million per year) in the
most meaningful ways possible. (Note: The Swiss have
increased their staffing at their embassy in Kabul over the
last year, from three to five Swiss nationals; approximately
20 Afghan nationals also work at the embassy. End Note)

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PAKISTAN
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3. (SBU) Fux said that he expected that the Swiss delegation
to the April 17 Pakistan donors' conference (reftel D) would
be led by Ambassador Pierre Combernous, the FDFA's Head of
the Asia and Oceania Division, though Fux emphasized that a
final decision had not yet been made (and the conference
hosts had not yet been informed). He said that FM Calmy-Rey
was scheduled to travel to Africa around the time of the
Tokyo conference, and that FDFA State Secretary Ambuehl would
therefore have to remain in Bern. Fux said that, although
Switzerland is not a member of the "Friends of Democratic
Pakistan" group, the Swiss delegation planned to participate
in the group's Tokyo meeting (on the margins of the donor
conference) in "observer" status. He remarked that
Switzerland has had a 40-year development assistance
relationship with Pakistan, and that Pakistan remains a
"priority country" for Swiss development assistance until

2012. While noting that the GOS had made a decision to draw
down its program in Pakistan (reftel C),Fux suggested that
the FDFA was giving some consideration to how to make the
most of available Swiss resources for Pakistan until that
time and, perhaps, beyond. (Note: Swiss development
assistance to Pakistan is approximately CHF 20 million/USD 18
million per year. End Note)
CARTER