HUNGARY ON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AID AND

UNCLAS BUDAPEST 000462 SIPDIS EEB FOR JSPECK, GCLEMENTS, DMORTON; EUR/CE JLAMORE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID PREL HU SUBJECT: HUNGARY ON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AID AND GLOBAL ACTION ON FOOD SECURITY REF: SECSTATE 58996 ¶1. (U) Embassy delivered reftel demarche to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for International Development Ambassador Denes Tamaj, as well as to officials at the Ministry of Agriculture. ¶2. (U) Ambassador Tamaj agreed that last year's food price crisis increased the importance and urgency of food security and agricultural development issues. He noted that this urgency led to the creation of an EU facility to respond quickly to countries facing food supply problems, and expressed strong support for helping countries develop their agricultural production capacities. ¶3. (SBU) Regarding Hungary's development assistance, Tamaj noted that in 2008, 88 percent of Hungary's official development assistance (ODA) was committed and delivered through multilateral institutions, leaving relatively little for bilateral country projects. The remaining 12 percent is divided among "priority countries", and assistance to countries on a "project-specific basis". Priority development partners include Serbia, Bosnia, Moldova, Vietnam, and the Palestinian Authority. Project-based assistance countries include countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, and Laos. ¶4. (U) Tamaj noted that the discretionary portion of Hungary's ODA has already been programmed from previous years, and that due to Hungary's current difficult economic situation, it is unable to offer any additional direct financial support for agricultural development. Ambassador Tamaj noted, however, that Hungary strongly supports the U.S. initiative on agricultural development, and appreciates the Administration's inclusive approach on this issue. ¶5. (U) Discussing Hungary's approach to development assistance, Tamaj noted that the GOH focuses on areas where it has specific expertise or experience it can share. One key area is providing technical assistance to countries developing democratic institutions, by sharing experiences of Hungary's own democratic transition in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Agricultural development/food security is another priority area. Ambassador Tamaj noted several ongoing projects in this area, including a project in Ethiopia to develop a water supply/irrigation system, projects in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to provide technical assistance on fresh-water fish breeding, and projects to help build agricultural research capacity in Kosovo by funding the training of agricultural research fellows from Kosovo. ¶6. (U) Tamaj also noted that food security has been identified as a priority issue among the "trio" countries of Spain, Belgium, and Hungary, who are currently in the process formulating a list of priorities that will span their EU presidencies, beginning with Spain in January 2010, and ending with Hungary's presidency from January to June 2011. Levine