DISCUSSIONS AMONGST OFFICIALS PRIOR TO PRAGUE'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000090 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EUR/CE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ SUBJECT: DISCUSSIONS AMONGST OFFICIALS PRIOR TO PRAGUE'S PRT CONFERENCE JANUARY 25-27 PRAGUE 00000090 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) More than 250 participants from 46 countries met in Prague over three days in our pre-London conference. The participants included journalists, civilian and military government officials, and NGO leaders. They discussed ways in which Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) could enhance coordination to more effectively deliver results to the Afghan public. Prior to the start of the conference, approximately 50 government representatives (see para 8-9 below),roughly half of which were USG officials, met for four hours on the afternoon of January 25 to discuss Governance, Economic Development, Civilian-Military Coordination, and Ensuring Effectiveness. ¶2. (SBU) All of the four sessions (Governance, Economic Development, Civilian-Military Coordination, and Ensuring Effectiveness),had a mix of U.S. and foreign government participants that spoke openly about constraints working in Afghanistan, focusing primarily on the work of PRTs. -------------- Governance and Economic Development -------------- ¶3. (SBU) During the discussion on governance, the participants concentrated on the following two issues that Afghan officials often raise: the "unevenness" of support across provinces, and the caveats (frequently national constraints) that circumscribe how these funds may be used. Recognizing that national mandates are unlikely to be eliminated any time soon, participants focused on better coordination with Afghan government authorities and the need to avoid creating "parallel structures" whereby Afghans look to the PRT instead of their provincial officials. ¶4. (SBU) The government representatives also discussed ways in which local procurement (especially via PRT funding) could be increased, bearing in mind security constraints and the need to ensure project sustainability. While there was support for expanding high value crop production and export capacities, several experts raised notes of caution about ensuring this was not at the expense of Afghans, growing crops for their own sustenance. -------------- Ensuring Effectiveness and Civilian-Military Coordination -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Much of the conversation on ensuring effectiveness focused on the issue of "stability" and how to get there. While many of the participants felt stability was the desired goal, several member states flagged national mandates which focus in other areas. Senior Civilian Representative for Regional Command East, Dawn Liberi, pointed out that in Afghanistan there are more than 75,000 projects currently. She commented that these projects often have specific parameters and most must meet certain demands from capitals. Several officials also focused attention on the challenges involved in evaluating Afghan feedback since Afghan views vary according to provinces and what's involved in achieving stability varies in each as well. ¶6. (SBU) While discussing civilian-military coordination, a great deal of attention was given to coordinating training. Officials acknowledged that national PRT methods, procedures, and command structures sometimes vary greatly, although participants agreed that efforts should be made to ensure the most common elements are incorporated in pre-deployment and post-arrival training opportunities. Though the discussion focused primarily on civilian-military coordination within the PRTs, the EU,s Senior Political Advisor to the EU Special Representative, Barbara Stapleton, reminded the group that the civil-military relationships with NGO actors in the PRTs, operating space are likewise in need of attention. -------------- Pre-Conference Take-Aways -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The following text was discussed and drafted during the "wrap-up" of the pre-conference. It represents the common thinking of those participants present at the pre-conference, not necessarily the official views of their home countries, since the document was not cleared in capitals. Begin Text: In Prague, government representatives of PRT contributing nations gathered from the field and from capitals on January PRAGUE 00000090 002.2 OF 002 25th to share lessons learned and identify priority areas for coordination of their efforts to support Afghanistan. The delegates discussed Governance, Economic Development, Civilian-Military Coordination, and Ensuring Effectiveness. The delegates agreed that enhanced cooperation in accordance with the following principles would improve PRT effectiveness: Governance - Encourage the passage and implementation of the Sub National Governance Policy - Strengthen the GIRoA-led PRT Executive Steering Committee to enhance coordination at the district, provincial and national level among the PRTs. - Build local capacity of Afghan government officials and institutions through PRT personnel and programs in conjunction with the Afghan government's Civilian Technical Assistance Plan. - Promote transparency and accountability of PRT activities for both Afghans and international donors. Economic Development - Increase local procurement to stimulate the economy, while striving to avoid market distortions. - Beyond our focus on staple crops, increase efforts to regenerate agribusiness to provide jobs and economic opportunities, help increase production of high value crops and explore new ways to help farmers access credit. Civilian Military Coordination - Increase capacity and consistency of civilian-military training opportunities for PRT personnel through such institutions as the NATO Academy in Oberammergau, Germany and the COIN Academy in Kabul. - Strengthen civilian leadership and expertise in PRTs to enhance governance and development to increase stability and security. Ensuring Effectiveness - Solicit input of the population to identify root causes of instability. - Develop plans and program activities that mitigate sources of instability and analyze the impact at the district level as well as the connections to the provincial and national levels. - Support the efforts of Kabul headquarters and provincial officials to visit districts and engage with local populations. This document only reflects the sense of the participants. End of Text. -------------- Pre-Conference Participants -------------- ¶8. (U) The following list covers the Foreign Government and International Organizations present for the pre-conference: Czech Republic - Ester Lauferova, Karla Stepankova, Daniel Volk, Bohumila Ranglova, Vladislav Gunter, Katerina Joselova South Korean - Seong-Doo Ahn, Si-jin Song Norway - Helene Sand Andresen Turkey - Turker Ari Slovenia - Urska Cas Svetek, Aljosa Selan, Srecko Zajc Germany - Burkhard Ducoffre Sweden - Magnus Forsberg Canada - Sean Jorgensen UN - Stefan Liebig Hungary - Laszlo Pallos Latvia - Jevgenijs Pavlovics Belgium - Susan Pond EU - Barbara Stapleton Lithuania - Bartas Trakymas Poland - Jerzy Wieclaw NATO - Nicholas Williams Italy - Sergio Maffettone ¶9. (U) USG Officials (in alphabetical order): Darian Arky, Carla Benini, Steve Campfield, Amy Carnie, Curtis Carson, Rachel Cooke, Beth Dunford, Bay Fang, David Gainer, Angela Gemza, Robert Goley, Bailey Hand, Dereck Hogan, John Law, Dawn Liberi, Drew Mann, Brig. Gen. Mark Scraba, Jamie McCampbell, LtCol. Karl Muehlheuser, John Plumley, Nick Rolling, Neilesh Shelat, Matt Sherman, Jessica Simon, Vikram Singh, and Leamond Stuart. ¶10. (U) S/RAP has not cleared this message. Thompson-Jones