AMBASSADOR RICE MEETS PAKISTAN'S US AMBASSADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000771 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019 TAGS: PREL EAID ECON UNGA PK SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE MEETS PAKISTAN'S US AMBASSADOR HAQQANI Classified By: Ambassador Susan E. Rice, for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On August 13, Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, met with Ambassador Rice. Haqqani discussed the positive transition of the US-Pakistan bilateral relationship and emphasized his desire to lessen US-Pakistan tensions in the UN General Assembly by seeking to take control of UN issues from Pakistan's Geneva office. Ambassador Rice and Haqqani discussed the on-going process to create a UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan Humanitarian and Reconstruction Needs. Ambassador Rice thanked Haqqani for the GOP promise to deliver a detailed concept paper on the Border Trust Fund to the World Bank, noting its importance for a productive Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) Summit, scheduled for September 24. End summary. ¶2. (C) Haqqani opened the meeting by stating that the US-Pakistan bilateral relationship had benefited from a "paradigm shift" and is currently "muddling through the domestic transition" from military to civilian government control. Ambassador Rice agreed that the relationship is improving, yet underscored the USG cannot continue to invest so heavily in the bilateral relationship and then be consistently opposed by Pakistan at every turn in UN bodies, especially the UNGA and UNHRC. Haqqani agreed that "point scoring at the expense of substance" was counterproductive and stated his belief that the upcoming UN General Assembly could show positive progress, albeit "not revolutionary progress", in the areas of freedom of expression and human rights. ¶3. (C) In an effort to personally control Pakistan's multi-lateral relationships at the UN, Haqqani declared that he would welcome a memo summarizing UN General Assembly issues where the US would like to see more positive position convergence, which Rice promised to provide him by the end of this month. Throughout the meeting, Haqqani sought to underscore that he did not find the Pakistani Permanent Representative to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, to be an intellectual leader, disparagingly stating that while he is an "ally of the new paradigm," he is firmly rooted in the old paradigm given his family's storied pedigree. Haqqani plans to raise Pakistan's relationship with the US at the UN with his President during a scheduled meeting on August 27, in London. Haqqani confirmed, when asked, that the Pakistani Permanent Representative to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, was aware of his meeting with Ambassador Rice. (Comment: There was no Pakistan UN Mission representative accompanying Haqqani - he arrived alone. End comment.) ¶4. (C) Ambassador Rice thanked Haqqani for the GOP promise to deliver a detailed concept paper on the Border Trust Fund to the World Bank, noting its importance for a productive Summit. Haqqani noted his personal belief, informed by a recent dinner he hosted for Special Envoy Holbrooke, that this issue will be resolved during Holbrooke's upcoming visit to Pakistan. The World Bank requested this paper several months ago to move forward with creating the Border Trust Fund to distribute assistance in areas with security challenges, namely NWFP, FATA, and Baluchistan. ¶5. (C) Haqqani asked if the Pakistan Humanitarian Coordinator position had been finalized. Ambassador Rice stated that the Secretary-General may appoint current French PR Jean-Maurice Ripert or Jean Arnault. She noted the process to create this position within the UN has been circuitous and that the USG is most focused on a swift decision -- most likely French PR Ripert. RICE