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Cablegate: New Zealand On Iraq Assistance and October 13-14

Published: Tue 5 Oct 2004 03:03 AM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000840
SIPDIS
FOR EB/ODF, EB/IRAQ AND EAP/ANP
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN PREL IZ NZ
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND ON IRAQ ASSISTANCE AND OCTOBER 13-14
TOKYO DONORS' MEETING
REF: (A) STATE 196084; (B) WELLINGTON 420; (C) WELLINGTON
303
1. The New Zealand government is not yet able to report
whether it has disbursed the remainder of the NZ $5.5
million (U.S. $3.3 million) that it had pledged for Iraq
assistance at the Madrid Donors' Conference, according to
Matt Dalzell of the New Zealand Agency for International
Development (NZAID). The government did not expend the
remainder by June 30 as expected (ref B). To determine
whether any of its pledge still must be disbursed, the
government is waiting for its Defense Forces to account for
the amount spent in Iraq by its engineering battalion from
July 1 until its departure from Basra in late September.
2. Dalzell on October 5 also reported that his agency was
working on a submission to government ministers on proposed
funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan. Thus, it was
difficult to predict when New Zealand could announce its
plans for future assistance to Iraq's reconstruction.
3. The charg at New Zealand's embassy in Tokyo, Michelle
Slade, tentatively will represent her government at the
October 13-14 donors' committee meeting in Tokyo.
4. Post delivered ref A talking points September 14 to
NZAID. While the government's response is disappointingly
slow, post will follow up.
BURNETT
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