VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNC #0044 0121417
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121417Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7420
INFO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4244
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0592
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0664
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0555
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000044 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EB/IFD/ODF (EMILY WAECHTER) AND NEA/ELA (KATHERINE ALLEN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EAID ETRD EUN LE CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: FOREIGN MINISTER LILLIKAS TO ATTEND PARIS LEBANON 
DONORS' CONFERENCE 
 
REFS: (A) STATE 2781, (B) 06 NICOSIA 1764 
 
¶1.  (U) Per reftel request, Post delivered on January 11 demarche on 
the upcoming Paris donors' conference for Lebanon to George Vyrides, 
Director, MFA Economic Affairs Division and Dionysis Dionysiou, MFA 
Lebanon Desk Officer. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Dionysiou reported that the GOC will be represented at the 
January 25 Paris Conference by Foreign Minister Yiorgos Lillikas. 
Vyrides noted that Cyprus has added Lebanon to its list of priority 
aid recipients and expects to make around 350,000 Euro available for 
aid to Lebanon in 2007.  It is unclear if this figure will be 
announced in Paris, as part of this sum may be used for projects 
unrelated to the immediate goals of the donors' conference. 
Consistent with its aid priorities, the GoC is looking for existing 
EU Member State projects in Lebanon to which it can contribute, 
focusing on health, food security and/or education. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Vyrides added that the GoC had pledged USD 100,000 for 
Lebanese reconstruction at the Stockholm donors' conference in 
August.  A check in that amount was given directly to the Lebanese 
Ambassador to Cyprus three weeks after that conference.  Cyprus's 
assistance budget in 2006 was only 15 million Euro.  Other Cypriot 
priority aid countries/jurisdictions are Egypt, Lesotho, Mali, Yemen 
and the Palestinian Territories.  The GoC is contributing to an 
existing Irish project in Lesotho, a Belgian project in Mali and a 
German hospital project in Yemen. 
 
¶4.  (U) The GOC had also been providing logistical and other support 
to a private sector-led effort to host a "World Congress and 
Exhibition on the Reconstruction and Development of Post-War 
Lebanon" in Cyprus.  The Congress, which was originally planned for 
December, was postponed first to February, but then was officially 
cancelled on January 12 due to "the continuing unstable political 
situation in Lebanon."  Nevertheless, the organizers plan to make 
Lebanese reconstruction a central theme of a broader "Business Show" 
currently scheduled for April 20-22.  Details of this "Business 
Show" are not yet available.  We have been working with the 
Commercial Section in Embassy Beirut and FCS to bring this 
opportunity to the attention of potentially interested U.S. 
companies. 
 
SCHLICHER