UGANDA: FAO BUDGET - ZERO NOMINAL GROWTH DEMARCHE

UNCLAS KAMPALA 001106 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN AORC EAGR EAID KUNR UN UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: FAO BUDGET - ZERO NOMINAL GROWTH DEMARCHE RESPONSE REF: STATE 96467 Poloff sought Uganda's support in holding the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) budget to zero nominal growth on September 23 per reftel demarche. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Multilateral Affairs Officer Isaac Sebulime said that the Government of Uganda (GOU) would like to see a "leaner and meaner" FAO that operates effectively within budget. However, he noted that the organization had an increasingly important food-security role to play given the global financial crisis. He acknowledged that rewarding the FAO with a budget increase despite assurances that reforms would be carried out within the existing budget was not a good message to send, and that doing so could possibly add to the bureaucratic size of the organization. Sebulime said Uganda would consider the U.S. position during internal discussions of the FAO budget. LANIER