VZCZCXRO6332
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #3995/01 3470924
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 130924Z DEC 09 ZDK PER YU SVC
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3916
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003995 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/SRAP, SCA/FO, S/SRAP, AND EEB/BTA 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ELTN PREL EAID PK AF
SUBJECT: DUBAI PROCESS: SLOW AND STEADY COOPERATION BETWEEN 
AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN 
 
REF: Kabul 3814 
 
KABUL 00003995  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The sixth round of the Canadian-led Dubai Process 
meeting November 24-25 brought together Afghan and Pakistani 
technical level delegates to discuss cooperation on counter 
narcotics, law enforcement, customs and movement of people. 
Discussions focused mostly on updates and fine-tuning of existing 
projects, although the two countries progressed on a cooperative 
framework for quarterly meetings between civilian border 
authorities.  Major donor projects underway to support the Dubai 
process include a pilot program by the United Nations Office of 
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on border liaison offices, the International 
Organization of Migration (IOM) biometric program for pedestrians at 
the Torkham Gate border crossing and USAID's Trade and Accession 
Facilitation for Afghanistan program to support custom's capacity 
building.  Unresolved disputes from the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit 
Trade Agreement (APTTA) negotiations, just prior to the Dubai 
meetings, crept into the discussions, but the Canadian chair brought 
delegates back on track.  Dubai's success springs from its 
conception as an informal, working level and apolitical discussion. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The Canadian-led Dubai Process meeting took place in Kabul, 
November 24-25, 2009, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with 
meetings of four working groups: Counter Narcotics, Law Enforcement, 
Customs and Movement of People.  In addition to the Afghan and 
Pakistan Delegations, representatives from the World Bank, the 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Assistance 
Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UK Embassy, and the U.S. 
Embassies in Kabul and Islamabad participated.  The next meeting of 
the Dubai Process will take place with a high-level meeting in the 
first quarter of 2010. 
 
Counter Narcotics and Law Enforcement 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In the Counter Narcotics (CN) and Law Enforcement (LE) 
working groups, UNODC reps from both sides of the border briefed on 
their efforts to encourage cooperation between Afghanistan and 
Pakistan and on the desire to establish a narcotics border liaison 
office (BLO) at Torkham Gate.  In addition, on counter narcotics, 
UNODC will help the Afghans and Pakistanis develop information 
exchange mechanisms, engage in joint exercises, and combat shipments 
of precursors.  On law enforcement, UNODC will help create real-time 
information exchanges, set up joint training, and design procedures 
for cooperation.  UNODC is also looking at training and equipping 
for precursor and drug smuggling detection.  (Note: Embassy Kabul CN 
and LE agencies and sections will meet with UNODC to ensure clarity 
and coordination.  End Note) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Although the Afghans, with the help of the UNODC, had 
prepared a draft MOU specifying cooperation in these two areas, the 
Pakistanis proposed that the 2004 MOU signed by both Ministers of 
Interior would be a sufficient framework for specific cooperation in 
CN and LE.  The Afghans agreed to review the 2004 MOU to see if, in 
their opinion, it could serve as a framework. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The two delegations also agreed to seek more frequent 
interaction by local civil administration officials deployed in 
border areas for information exchange and joint activities.  The GOP 
team mentioned its successful model with Iran under which civilian 
border authorities meet on a quarterly basis to discuss problems and 
successful resolutions of issues. 
 
Customs: Strengthening Border Monitoring Through 
Infrastructure, Training and Improved Coordination 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Embassy Kabul's Border Management Task Force (BMTF) 
briefed the group on the status of property acquisition at the 
Weesh-Chaman border crossing.  After some confusion about the 
location and amount of land needed to construct the customs site, 
agreement was reached on the location and amount of land.  Next 
step: President Karzai must issue a decree transferring the land 
from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Finance, which 
is expected before the end of 2009.  Embassy Kabul's BMTF 
representative also quickly updated the group on progress on the 
Afghan National Customs Academy.  Although this is an Afghan-only 
institution, it sparked discussion about joint training ventures 
between the Pakistani and Afghan Customs agencies. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Pakistani delegation had previously presented the 
Afghans with a draft bilateral customs agreement.  However, both 
delegations agreed to await the conclusion of the 
Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) before moving 
forward with the bilateral customs agreement.  In the meantime they 
will review the World Customs Organization's template for bilateral 
 
KABUL 00003995  002 OF 002 
 
 
customs agreements provided by the World Bank. 
 
Afghan Customs Seeking Streamlining of Procedures 
and Anti-Corruption Capacity Building 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) USAID explained its Trade and Accession Facilitation 
Afghanistan (TAFA) program's three elements: trade policy 
liberalization, trade facilitation and customs reform, and public 
outreach on trade issues.  Both delegations requested education 
seminars for traders, brokers, and businessmen, including an 
overview of Afghanistan-Pakistan procedures, laws and regulations, 
and how-to's on compliance.  The Pakistani delegation believed it 
necessary to find ways to bridge the language barriers among the 
Dari, Pashto, Urdu and English speaking stakeholders. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In a separate conversation on the margins of the 
conference, senior Afghan Customs officials requested that TAFA 
technical advisors devise ways to streamline trade documentation, 
such as electronic forms, creating a database and improving Custom's 
staff processing skills.  They strongly requested TAFA to focus on 
stemming corruption in the Customs authority by developing an 
anti-corruption strategy, a work plan for implementation, and 
assistance for monitoring and reporting. 
 
Moving People with Biometrics 
----------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Under the Dubai Process, the IOM has been charged with 
assessing biometrics capacity and needs on the Afghan side and 
reviewing the current biometrics system in place in Pakistan.  The 
Afghan assessment is being finalized, and the IOM has begun the 
review of Pakistani system.  IOM emphasized the need for 
compatibility between the two systems.  The pilot biometrics 
operation, still in the design phase, is slated to be conducted at 
the Torkham Gate Border Crossing Point which has pedestrian traffic 
of approximately 24,000 people daily.  Under the IOM program, day 
travelers would be provided with biometric ID cards.  Afghanistan 
would like the pilot project to also include commercial trucker 
traffic as a test group.  ID and Passport reader equipment would be 
provided as part of the pilot project.  Canada announced it would 
fund two Afghan and two Pakistani Customs officials to attend an IOM 
biometrics training seminar in Bangkok in January 2010.  In 
addition, Canada is considering funding participation of up to five 
or six participants from each country. 
 
APTTA and DUBAI Crossovers Inevitable but 
not Always Productive 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The meetings were sidetracked frequently as both sides 
argued over the name for the territorial division between 
Afghanistan and Pakistan, i.e. the "Durand Line" or "border," 
respectively.  Since the Afghans do not recognize this as a "border" 
they insist on using the term, "legal crossing point," while the 
Pakistanis insist on using the term, "border crossing point."  This 
issue is one of the sticking points in the Afghanistan-Pakistan 
Transit Trade Agreement negotiations, the last round of which 
occurred the two days prior to these Dubai Process negotiations. 
There is some overlap between the countries' negotiating teams, and 
language in the technical level Dubai Process had migrated to the 
APTTA discussions, much to the dismay of the GOP.  Both delegations 
repeatedly raised the APTTA "re-export" study which will look at 
cross border trade that evades appropriate customs duties in either 
or both countries.  The Canadian chair brought the delegations back 
into line and remonstrated against trying to refight APTTA in the 
Dubai Process. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Comment: The Dubai Process has produced results thus far 
because it is informal, working level, and apolitical, according to 
our Canadian interlocutor.  As this round followed the APTTA 
negotiating round so closely, APTTA politics crept into the 
discussion, forcing the Canadians to reduce heightened 
sensitivities.  She said, however, that the Canadians accompanying 
the process were divided on whether there was slow and steady 
progress at this round or status quo, but with relationship 
building.  End Comment. 
 
RICCIARDONE