VZCZCXRO6496
PP RUEHNP
DE RUEHC #5979 0182020
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 182018Z JAN 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 4973
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 4573
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 1242
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0302
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
UNCLAS STATE 005979
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECIN ECON EU UN IT IZ
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR THE U.S. DELEGATION TO THE INFORMAL
IRAQ DONORS MEETING IN NAPLES
REF: A. STATE 3676
B. ROME 61
1. (U) This cable is to provide guidance and instructions for
the U.S. delegation to the informal Iraq donors meeting in
Naples, Italy on January 23-24, 2008. Reftels give the
composition of the delegation.
2. (U) With an eye toward achieving the goals of the
International Compact with Iraq, a core group of
international donors will meet with Iraqi officials to
discuss the practical aspects of coordinating support from
international donors with Iraqi budget resources for
national ministries and the provinces. International
representation will include the UN, World Bank, EC, Italy,
Japan, Korea, UK and USA. Iraq's delegation will be led by
the Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation (MoPDC),
Dr. Ali Baban.
3. (U) The agenda calls for a review of donor activities by
functional sector and geographic region, identification of
ICI implementation priorities taking account of Iraq's
National and Provincial Development Strategies (NDS and
PDSs), national budget execution issues, activities and
capabilities of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs),
and the role of the ICI Iraq Consultative Group (ICG) for
donor coordination.
4. (U) Members of the USA delegation will give short
presentations on (i) USA assistance activities in Iraq
(broken down by program areas and geographic regions), (ii)
present-day USAID assistance activities (for ministerial
capacity development and through the PRTs), and (iii) the PRT
program's mission, organization, successes and constraints.
5. (SBU) The USA and UK will also co-chair a session to
discuss partnership principles as were developed at the
Building Provincial Iraqi Ownership roundtable the UK hosted
last November. The delegation should seek agreement from the
Government of Iraq (GoI) and other donors on a set of
partnership principles that emphasize Iraqi ownership and the
priority use of Iraqi budgetary resources, especially for
major projects.
6. (SBU) The delegation should work to ensure that Iraq's NDS
fully takes into account the aspirations and priorities of
the new PDSs that have been developed by 17 of Iraq's 18
provinces. (The final PDS for Dohuk is near completion.)
7. (SBU) The delegation should encourage the GoI Ministry of
Planning and the IRFFI and ICI Secretariats to play effective
roles in facilitating and coordinating donor relations with
individual provinces and with central government ministries
as the ministries make their decisions for provincial budget
allocations and programs.
8. (SBU) The delegation should endeavor to identify the best
practices and approaches for coordinating donor technical
assistance programs for capacity development in Iraq's
ministries and provinces, including with GoI training
programs.
9. (SBU) The delegation should be mindful of the unique
organizational structure, operational constraints and funding
requirements of the PRTs as donors and the GoI seek to
develop synergies between donor activities at the central and
provincial levels. This is true not only for the USA-led
PRTs, but also for the PRTs that are led by Coalition
partners, including the UK (Basra), Korea (Erbil), and Italy
(Dhi Qar).
10. (SBU) The delegation should seek the development of a
consensus that the ICI ICG will become the leading group for
encouraging and coordinating donor activities in Iraq.
Finally, the meeting should look ahead to and help to make
preparations for the next IRFFI Donor Committee Meeting to be
preceded the day before by the first full ICG Meeting
(tentatively scheduled for March in Baghdad) and to be
followed by the first Annual ICI Ministerial Meeting
(tentatively scheduled for late-April or May possibly in
Paris or Kuwait).
RICE