USAID ADMINISTRATOR AND EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS

UNCLAS MADRID 000216 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/WE, EEB/IFD/ODF USEU FOR USAID-USEU ANDERSON STATE PASS USAID FOR EXEC SECRETARY PIERCE, SPECIAL ASSISTANT HUBBARD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID KGHG SENV SP TBIO SUBJECT: USAID ADMINISTRATOR AND EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS DISCUSS TRANSATLANTIC COOPERATION This is a combined Embassy Madrid/USAID-USEU cable. Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah, EU Development Ministers, and EU officials discussed the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Development Dialogue, Haiti, and related issues during the EU Development Ministers Informal Meeting on February 17-18 at La Granja, Spain. In plenary sessions and in bilateral meetings, Administrator Shah confirmed the USG commitment to U.S.-EU development partnerships and support for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). European development ministers clearly appreciated Administrator Shah's participation and the USG commitment to the MDGs and exploring partnership opportunities with the EU and member states. End Summary. Breakfast Meeting Targets Food Security and Gender Issues -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah prefaced his day-long engagement in the informal meeting of EU Development Ministers in Segovia, Spain with a wide-ranging breakfast discussion with Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary of State (vice minister) for International Cooperation Soraya Rodriguez on February 18. Secretary Rodriguez was accompanied by Elena Madras, Director of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID),Juan Lopez-Doriga, Director General of Development Policy and Planning for AECID, Alejandra Del Rio, Chief of Staff for Secretary Rodriguez, Luis Sanchez-Vellisco, and EU and Multilateral advisor to Secretary Rodriguez. Administrator Shah was accompanied by Steven Pierce, USAID Executive Secretary, Benjamin Hubbard, Special Assistant to the Administrator, William Anderson, USAID EU representative, and Ari Nathan, Embassy Madrid Economic Officer. ¶3. (U) Administrator Shah praised Spain's leadership in food security. He said the U.S. is committed to the World Bank Agriculture Trust Fund, and noted that a Spanish report could serve as an "operational blue print" for the Fund. Secretary Rodriguez and the Administrator agreed that food security and gender issues are critical components of the MDGs and on the need to work together to identify MDGs gaps and highlight achievements prior to September's UN General Assembly. Administrator Shah said the MDGs should also incorporate new science and technology innovations. Secretary Rodriguez and the Administrator also agreed to exchange information on Spanish and U.S. programs in Latin America in consideration of potential bilateral cooperation on hunger and gender issues. ¶4. (U) Secretary Rodriguez said climate change financing for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries is increasingly important. Administrator Shah noted the importance of forward thinking that integrates climate change activities across programs and underscored the importance of weather monitoring and forecasting systems for developing countries in Africa and South Asia. Secretary Rodriguez called improved donor coordination in Haiti "critical" and expressed frustration at Spain's exclusion from the weekly Haiti donor conference call. Bilaterals Emphasize Technical/Strategic Cooperation -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Following the breakfast meeting with Spanish officials, Dr. Shah had bilateral meetings with Swedish State Secretary for International Development Joakim Stymne, UK Minister of State for International Development Gareth Thomas, Finnish Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paavo Vayrynen, and EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs accompanied by DG Stefano Manservisi. ¶6. (U) The meetings with Secretary Stymne and Minister Thomas covered similar issues. Both agreed on the need for an After Action Review (AAR) for Haiti. Administrator Shah invited them to join in an AAR focused on the effectiveness of the UN cluster system in Haiti, particularly on whether outside entities should be engaged in areas beyond UN/NGO expertise such as heavy engineering. In addition, both Secretary Stymne and Minister Thomas expressed interest in partnering with the USG on a proposal to expand the role of science and technology innovations within the MDGs. Administrator Shah and Minister Thomas expressed a strong interest in partnering closely on the Global Health Initiative and learning from the UK's previous work supporting health system investments. Secretary Stymne also said he would like to link his staff and USAID counterparts in developing a model information platform on aid transparency (for example, for health programs in Tanzania). ¶7. (SBU) Bilateral meetings with Minister Vayrynen and Commissioner Piebalgs generally discussed partnership possibilities. Minister Vayrynen said he helped launch the Transatlantic Partnership for Sustainable Development in January 2009 to encourage a strategic U.S.-EU donor alliance. He explained that the US and EU should work with poor countries to promote good governance, and to counterbalance the influence of emerging developing countries who use the G77 to promote their own national interests. Commissioner Piebalgs and the Administrator agreed on the importance of improving food security and maternal health. The Commissioner called the Administrator's desire to partner with the EU "music to our ears." Deputy General Manservisi noted that EU and USAID counterparts needed to look at how to structure such partnerships. Plenaries/Lunch Cover Transatlantic Cooperation/Haiti -------------- -------------- ¶8. (U) From the bilateral meetings, Dr. Shah moved to plenary sessions on the Transatlantic Development Dialogue and on Haiti. Secretary Rodriguez noted that only seven months remained before the September UN MDGs Summit in New York and urged Member States to strengthen their commitments and ensure that the U.S. and the EU work together on the MDGs. Administrator Shah agreed, and emphasized the USG commitment to the MDGs by highlighting the Administration's new USD 3.5 billion Food Security Initiative aimed at MDG 1 (poverty and hunger) as well as the just-announced USD 63 billion Global Health Initiative aimed at MDGs 4, 5, and 6 (child mortality, maternal health, and HIV/AIDS and other diseases). He proposed an emphasis on science, technology and innovation for the MDGs, and a focus on how the roles of women and girls are critical in the long-term for democratic governance and economic growth. ¶9. (SBU) Development ministers discussed U.S.-EU cooperation including the importance of food security and agricultural production, gender equality, the need to consider regional integration in Africa, engagement with emerging donors, and the challenges involved in filling the remaining gaps for achieving the MDGs. Belgian and French representatives questioned whether statements on U.S.-EU partnership would be followed by actions, and said that the experience at the Copenhagen climate change conference was not reassuring on this point. ¶10. (U) In the plenary session on Haiti Edmond Mulet, the Secretary General's Special Representative in Haiti and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, gave a presentation on the range of relief, political, and security challenges faced by the international community and the government of Haiti. Mr. Mulet emphasized the importance of; a UN-coordinated effort unified across sectors; a long-term partnership with Haitians including transparency and accountability, and; the March 31 Haiti donors conference. Participants at the session and the following lunch discussed USG and EU work in Haiti, noting that the EU had coordinated its response at three levels: within the Commission, within the EU, and within the UN (under the cluster system). Administrator Shah emphasized the USG's active participation in the UN cluster system, and complimented the UN's ability to stand up the system in the face of extreme human and material losses. Still, he suggested that the capabilities of UN clusters may require expansion in heavy engineering areas. Press Focused on Haiti -------------- ¶11. (U) Administrator Shah met with a reporter from Spain's most popular radio station to discuss Haiti. The Administrator emphasized the importance of continued partnership and offered examples of successful coordination. The Administrator had a second media encounter during the press conference directly following the ministerial plenary sessions in which he emphasized that U.S. relief efforts in the country are following the UN lead and are in close partnership with the Haitian government. Comment -------------- ¶12. (U) European development ministers clearly appreciated Administrator Shah's participation -- one minister called it the reason he "decided to attend the conference" -- and the USG commitment to the MDGs and exploring partnership opportunities with the EU and member states. Still, it is important that concrete follow-up activities progress, particularly if there is to be a follow-up U.S.-EU development meeting in April as Secretary Rodriguez suggested. Areas for such activities could include: -- U.S.-GOS partnership in Latin America (possibly hunger and gender issues in Guatemala); -- U.S.-EU joint MDG effort prior to the September conference to identify and fill gaps (for example, maternal mortality),highlight achievements, and incorporate science and technology innovations into the MDGs; -- Joint AAR on UN cluster system performance in Haiti; -- Partnership (Sweden, UK, possibly others) on development assistance transparency (for example, in health programs in Tanzania); -- Identification of climate change actions (in specific countries) that demonstrate serious intent to meet Copenhagen commitments, and; -- General bilateral and multilateral cooperation in food security, health and gender issues. SOLOMONT