TFHA01: INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000103 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM EAID KDEM OIIP UN HA IN SUBJECT: TFHA01: INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI: INDIA ADDS USD 4 MILLION TO PRIOR PLEDGE REF: A. A: SECSTATE 04909 ¶B. B: SECSTATE 04854 ¶C. C: SECSTATE 05277 Classified By: Political Counselor Uzra Zeya for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (U) Post delivered reftel A and B demarche points to Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) division on January 19. ¶2. (U) An MEA official said that India had decided to give a total of USD 5 million in cash to Haiti, an increase from the USD 1 million donation announced on January 14. Regarding use of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' (OCHA) Financial Tracking System (FTS),an official said that India "has its own arrangements." He did not indicate whether his office was encouraging donors to use the OCHA FTS. ¶3. (U) Though not a prominent focus of the Indian media, coverage of the U.S. response to the Haiti tragedy has been objective and largely positive. While very limited reports question U.S. motives in the region, others highlight the rise of U.S. statesmanship to the occasion and the promise of President Obama that the people of Haiti will not be forsaken. Post will continue to monitor Indian media reaction and will report findings directly to Under Secretary McHale (reftel C). ROEMER