ROKG HAS BEGUN DISBURSING PLEDGED SUPPORT FOR

UNCLAS SEOUL 001273 SIPDIS STATE PASS TO AF/E MATTHEW WALSH, AF/E PAMELA FIERST E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER SO EAID KPKO KS SUBJECT: ROKG HAS BEGUN DISBURSING PLEDGED SUPPORT FOR SOMALIA REF: STATE 79853 ¶1. (U) In response to reftel request to urge the host government to provide previously pledged funds for Somalia, Song Hye-ryoung, MOFAT Humanitarian Assistance Division, on August 11 said the Republic of Korea (ROKG) has already begun disbursing funds from the USD 1,500,000 pledged at the Donors Conference held in Brussels on April 22 for the Somalia Security Sector and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). According to Song, the pledged funds will be divided accordingly: USD 500,000 allocated to AMISOM and USD 1,000,000 to humanitarian assistance, of which USD 600,000 has already been disbursed through donations to the World Food Program in Somalia. The ROKG expects to release the remaining funds in the next couple of months. ¶2. (U) Song also said that a very small amount of the funds have also been used for a coastal security management program, which brought several African (including Somali) officers to Korea for training. Song did not know the exact dates of the training, but said it occurred around May or June of this year. ¶3. (U) Song added that the ROKG gave USD 3 million this year to the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund, which allocates disaster relief funds to countries in emergency, including Somalia. The ROKG does not currently donate money directly to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Song said the overall level of financial support for Somalia next year is estimated to total approximately USD 2.5 million, depending on the budget, with a projected minimum allocation of USD 1.25 million. STEPHENS