Afghanistan -- Eleventh Meeting of the Joint Coordination

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001108 DEPT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/RA, AND SCA/A DEPT PASS FOR AID/ANE DEPT PASS USTR FOR DELANEY AND DEANGELIS DEPT PASS OPIC DEPT PASS FOR TDA FOR STEIN AND GREENIP USOECD FOR ENERGY ATTACHE CENTCOM FOR CSTC-A NSC FOR JWOOD TREASURY FOR MHIRSON, ABAUKOL, AWELLER, AND MNUGENT COMMERCE FOR HAMROCK-MANN, DEES, CHOPPIN, AND FONOVICH SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: ECON EAID EFIN EAGR ETRD PGOV PREL AF SUBJECT: Afghanistan -- Eleventh Meeting of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board REF: Kabul 1017 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. The Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board April 19: -- approved the Finance Ministry's requests to set up task forces to develop a financing mechanism for the ANDS and to help the GIRoA prepare good projects in priority areas; -- supported the Agriculture Ministry's priorities under its new National Agriculture Development Framework but did not reach any decision on an urgent request for aid to procure wheat seeds; -- supported the Commerce Ministry's new priorities for promoting private sector development; -- received GIRoA assurances that August elections would be fair; and -- approved an increase in the Afghan National Police (reported reftel). GIRoA presentations, including assistance requests, were refreshingly well-prepared and specific. We expect donors to respond positively. In an encouraging milestone, a representative of the private sector attended this JCMB meeting, apparently the first time one has been invited. End Summary ¶2. (U) The eleventh meeting of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board took place in Kabul April 19, chaired by Afghan Senior Minister Hedayat Arsala and SRSG Kai Eide. Arsala opened the meeting by noting that the GIRoA had taken several important steps since the Paris aid conference last summer, including appointment of new, effective ministers at Finance, Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior. He thanked donors for their support and urged backing for what he called a sustainable financing mechanism for the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). Eide said recent international conferences in Moscow and The Hague showed the international community (IC) supports Afghanistan and is focused on the right priorities. He said agriculture and private sector development are fundamental to the security and prosperity of the Afghan people and that improvements are still needed in how the IC works with the GIRoA. -------------- ANDS Financing and Alignment �00A; -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Finance Minister Zakhilwal reiterated well-rehearsed complaints that the ANDS faces a $22 billion "financing gap," that donor assistance is not aligned with GIRoA priorities, that some sectors receive "too much" aid while others too little, and that the share of aid donors channel through the central budget has declined despite GIRoA appeals to increase it. The JCMB approved four proposals to address these issues, all supported by the Standing Committee on Development on March 18: -- Donor Missions are to assign focal points, ideally Afghan, to ensure consistency and timely reporting on aid allocation. -- A task force, led by the Ministry of Finance, will be set up to develop a financing mechanism for the ANDS, including a review of the "division of labor" among donors. -- A task force, led by the ministries of Finance and Economy, will be set up to develop a strategy to help the GIRoA prepare good projects in priority areas. -- A "peer review mechanism" will be established on a six-month, pilot basis by the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. Its goals are to better align donor programs with GIRoA priorities, to enhance donor coordination, avoid ill-conceived approaches, and identify gaps in donor funding. Donors stressed they are only approving this concept as a pilot at this stage. SRSG Eide appealed to keep the mechanism simple and avoid endless discussion. Zakhilwal concurred with both points. KABUL 00001108 002 OF 003 -------------- Agriculture -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) Asif Rahimi said cereal production is expected to increase by 30 to 50 percent this year (after a sharp drop in 2008),thanks to better rainfall. Agriculture has great potential in Afghanistan, he said, and he has developed the National Agricultural Development Framework (NADF) to realize this potential. Rahimi described the five top priorities of the NADF (assistance requests in parenthesis): -- Urgent assistance to buy wheat seeds now for distribution to farmers in September ($32.4 million). Without endorsing Rahimi's specific proposal, Charge informed the JCMB that the U.S. hoped to be able to make a generous contribution in support of this priority. (Note: Septel will recommend urgent action on one of several USG options to support the Agriculture Minister's request, in time for an announcement at the May 6-7 Trilateral Summit.) -- MAIL will establish a one-stop window to facilitate lease of government land for productive purposes ($3 million). -- Increasing access to farm credit ($2.3 million). -- "Change management" and reform at MAIL ($3.5 million in the first of a three-year program. -- The Comprehensive Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) facility, which aims to improve coordination among MAIL and the Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Counter-narcotics, and Finance. CARD would start in the provinces of Nangarhar, Balkh, and Badakhshan ($81 million over three years). ¶5. (SBU) The U.S. and other donors all supported Rahimi and the priorities he has set for agricultural development. The Charge noted that President Obama has placed emphasis on agriculture in the new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and that the U.S. had invited Rahimi to Washington in May. The UK pledged aid to agriculture valued at BPS 35 million in support of the NADF. The EC announced aid valued at 60 million euros. And the ADB said it would fund another irrigation project valued at $300 million and an agriculture marketing infrastructure project valued at $30 million. Rahimi thanked donors for their support and urged donors unable to pledge new aid to reprogram already pledged assistance to align with the priorities of the NADF. -------------- Private Sector Development -------------- ¶6. (U) Minister of Commerce and Industries (MOCI) Wahidullah Shahrani said the private sector must be the engine of economic growth in Afghanistan. He described his five priorities for promoting private sector development (PSD) and their associated assistance requests: -- Enhancing Afghan competitiveness by improving border management, liberalizing trade policy, and reaching a new transit trade agreement with Pakistan. Assistance request: $44.1 million for feasibility studies and detailed design for upgrading of six border ports. -- Streamlining licensing and registration procedures to promote private investment. Request: $2.5 million to establish a comprehensive database for licenses and registrations. -- Increasing value-added industrial processing. Request: $7.1 million for feasibility study and detailed design for industrial parks, export processing zones, or reconstruction opportunity zones in six potential locations. KABUL 00001108 003 OF 003 -- Improving the legal and policy framework to promote private investment, especially by SMEs. Request: $2.5 million to support drafting regulations for commercial laws, and industrial policy, and an investment policy. -- Reforming and building capacity at MOCI and other GIRoA institutions involved in PSD. Request: $2.6 million to reform MOCI structure, to support the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI),and to provide trade-related training to private businesses. ¶7. (SBU) Shahrani noted that the GIRoA hoped to involve ACCI in all major policy decisions affecting the business community and that, for the first time, a representative of the private sector (though not from ACCI) was attending this JCMB meeting. Gholam Hassanzada, representing the Private Sector and Civil Society Enabling Council, said Shahrani's approach was a step forward but that additional effort to support PSD is needed. He said PSD has been neglected, and businessmen are leaving Afghanistan and investing in other countries because the climate here is poor. Hassanzada also appealed to the IC to involve the Afghan private sector more in their aid projects. ¶8. (SBU) The few donors who spoke supported Shahrani and his priorities for PSD. The Pakistani representative said the GOP realizes the importance of a new transit trade agreement and would facilitate the process to negotiate one. He said bilateral Af-Pak discussions on this issue would be held on the margins of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference to be held May 13-14 in Islamabad. Co-chair Arsala closed this agenda item, saying the JCMB has approved MOCI's priorities and the inter-ministerial committee on PSD will work to develop projects to implement them. Shahrani has called donors to a meeting on May 2 to follow up on his assistance requests. -------------- Elections Update -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Independent Election Commission (IEC) Chief Technical Officer Najafi said all four phases of voter registration for the August presidential election have taken place and preparations for the 7,000 polling centers are continuing. Bids are being accepted to produce voting materials. The GIRoA has submitted a budget for the election to donors, with only an $18 million financing gap, which they hope to cover soon. IEC is building public awareness and consulting with political parties on ways to ensure transparency. The GIRoA has invited international observers and accredited 44 national and international entities so far. Najafi noted election-related training of police is not the IEC's responsibility but would be coordinated with IEC. Arsala added that the members of the Electoral Complaint Commission have been nominated and that comprehensive efforts are underway, involving close cooperation between the GIRoA and IC, to ensure fair elections. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Most observers agreed that GIRoA preparations, including its specific assistance requests, for this JCMB meeting were considerably more focused than at other recent JCMB's. In Zakhilwal, Atmar (reftel),Rahimi, and Shahrani donors interacted with the best and the brightest in the cabinet. We expect donors will follow through and support many if not most of the assistance requests floated at this JCMB. RICCIARDONE