VZCZCXRO1493
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3044/01 3221439
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181439Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5495
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003044 
 
AIDAC 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ECON EAID PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: ASSISTANCE COORDINATION IN IRAQ: A NEW PARTNERSHIP 
 
REF: A. WERBERG-TAECKER EMAIL 11/11/2009 
     ¶B. BAGHDAD 2633 
     ¶C. 09ROME 0302 
     ¶D. BAGHDAD 3031 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified; please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: In a clear show of support for the GOI, 
over twenty heads or deputy heads of missions resident in 
Iraq attended an International Compact with Iraq (ICI) / 
New Partnership meeting in Baghdad on November 7, followed 
by a similarly well-attended Donor Committee meeting of the 
International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) 
on November 8.  The GOI and all donor partners unanimously 
agreed that the ICI had served an important purpose at a 
critical juncture in Iraq's post-war reconstruction, but 
that assistance coordination must now change to reflect 
Iraq's full sovereignty.  While the exact nature of this 
new partnership was left to the next GOI administration to 
define, all parties at the two meetings, including the 
bilateral donors, the GOI, the UN, and World Bank, 
demonstrated a desire for continued close cooperation on 
assistance coordination and a desire to see the GOI 
articulate its own development priorities.  End Summary. 
 
A New Partnership to Replace the ICI 
==================================== 
 
¶2.  (U) A November 7 meeting in Baghdad that was originally 
conceived as an ICI Ministerial ended up as an 
Ambassadorial-level meeting to discuss a "new partnership" 
with Iraq.  The meeting, co-chaired by Minister of Finance 
Jabr and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General 
Ibrahim Gambari, was attended by over 20 heads of mission 
or deputies resident in Baghdad, along with UNAMI, the 
World Bank, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference 
(OIC).  All attendees confirmed that the ICI had been a 
positive force for Iraq in the past, but circumstances had 
changed and the time had come to transition to a new 
partnership with Iraq, one that reflected Iraq's full 
sovereignty.  The attendees also confirmed continued 
support for and cooperation with Iraq, and called for the 
current and next GOI to clearly articulate Iraq's 
development priorities.  Coordinator for Assistance 
Transition Patricia Haslach represented the USG at the ICI 
and IRFFI meetings.  (Note:  Speeches and participant 
remarks have been sent to NEA/I/ECON, per ref email. End 
note) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Comment: In discussions among donors over the 
past few months and in meetings with the GOI, it was clear 
that the current GOI has little interest in or energy for 
the ICI.  An exception was the ICI Secretariat, which is 
down to a semi-retired Iraqi seconded from the Ministry of 
Industry and a UK citizen contracted by the UN to provide 
Secretariat support.  End Comment. 
 
IRFFI Winding Down 
================== 
 
¶4.  (U) A November 8 meeting of the IRFFI Donor Committee 
echoed the themes of the ICI-related meeting the day 
before, with heads of mission or deputies from 14 
countries, the UN, World Bank, and GOI in attendance.  The 
IRFFI meeting was co-chaired by Minister of Planning Ali 
Babaan and Danish Ambassador Mikael Winther, who has served 
as chair of the donor committee for the past year.  A 
decision was made at the IRFFI meeting to extend the date 
for approval of projects under the UN Multi-Donor Trust 
Fund from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010, and to ask 
Ambassador Winther to stay on as donor committee chair. 
The UN said it would conduct a lessons-learned exercise 
using a sample of IRFFI projects, and the World Bank agreed 
to include its projects in the exercise as well.  Newly 
arrived UNAMI DSRSG for the Office of Development and 
Qarrived UNAMI DSRSG for the Office of Development and 
Humanitarian Support Christine McNab (also Resident 
Coordinator) emphasized the need to avoid "the blame game" 
on lessons learned, and to try to answer the basic question 
as to whether each project had accomplished its 
objectives.  A UN proposal to establish a new UN 
multi-donor trust fund received little support from any of 
the donors.  (Note:  The IRFFI has received no new funding 
from any donors for the last few years.  In recognition of 
individual donors, direct bilateral assistance with the 
GOI, the previous Donor Committee meeting in Naples decided 
to close IRFFI down. Ref C.  End note) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Minister Babaan called for a "new type of 
partnership" to emerge between the international donors and 
the GOI.  He said the next Iraqi administration would have 
 
BAGHDAD 00003044  002 OF 002 
 
 
its own ideas, and it would be premature to decide on any 
particular coordination mechanism at this time.  Babaan 
noted that while Iraq has substantial financial resources, 
it still needs technical advisory support from the 
international community.  Echoing comments made by Minister 
of Finance Jabr at the ICI meeting, Babaan called for 
international community support to remove Iraq from UN 
Chapter VII and to help with debt relief from neighboring 
countries, saying that this would be greater than any 
financial aid.  In his closing remarks, Minister Babaan 
thanked all of the partners in Iraq, and specifically cited 
the United States as being "in the lead from the first day, 
giving the life of its soldiers," to make Iraq a better 
place. 
 
NDP Standing Up 
=============== 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In remarks at the IRFFI meeting, UNAMI SRSG Ad 
Melkert noted that the yet-to-be-completed National 
Development Plan (NDP) would become a "key vehicle" for 
articulating  Iraqi development priorities, and his 
comments were echoed by the Minister of Planning and other 
GOI officials at the IRFFI and ICI meetings.  That said, 
most of the bilateral donors are skeptical as to the amount 
of support the GOI will give to the NDP.  Additionally, 
there are concerns that politically sensitive issues such 
as governance, reconciliation, and human rights, are not 
yet included in the NDP.  A recent NDP planning retreat in 
Erbil addressed some of these issues, but much work remains 
to be done (Ref D). 
 
Partners Moving Forward, Cautiously 
=================================== 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment:  With the Strategic Framework Agreement, 
the Joint Campaign Plan, and the Mission Strategic Plan; and 
with our close cooperation with the UN, World Bank, and 
other donors, we have a clear direction for our own bilateral 
assistance efforts in Iraq.  Other, smaller donors, 
however, have some concerns about transitioning from the 
ICI and IRFFI without clear replacement mechanisms.  We 
will continue to meet with all the donors in the monthly 
Iraq Partners Forum meetings, and bilaterally, to minimize 
duplication of efforts and maximize multiplier effects for 
our assistance efforts.  Donors are currently setting up 
sectoral working groups to coordinate on specific substantive 
issues, e.g. water, private sector development, public 
finance management, etc.  We will also maintain a robust 
conversation with the GOI now, during the post-election 
caretaker period, and after the formation of the new 
government to ensure that our bilateral assistance programs 
transition smoothly to the next administration.  End Comment. 
HILL