VZCZCXRO9625
PP RUEHNP
DE RUEHC #9147/01 2982129
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 252112Z OCT 07
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 3558
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 3602
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 1198
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 9290
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 149147 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECIN ECON EUN UN IT IZ
SUBJECT: U.S. DELEGATION POSITION GUIDANCE FOR THE IRFFI 
DONORS COMMITTEE MEETING IN BARI, ITALY ON OCTOBER 28-29. 
 
REF: A. STATE 142290 
 
     ¶B. STATE 148053 
     ¶C. STATE 149144 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This is an action cable for the U.S. delegates to 
the Meeting of the Donors Committee (DC) of the International 
Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) in Bari, Italy on October 
28-29.  See reftel country clearance requests for the 
composition of the delegation. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The agenda for the IRFFI DC meeting is divided into 
three sessions:  (1) IRFFI Governance and Technical Issues, 
particularly for discussion and adoption of the new IRFFI 
Terms of Reference (ToR), the alignment of the IRFFI to the 
International Compact with Iraq (ICI), and the organization 
and work of the IRFFI and ICI secretariats and sectoral 
working groups (SWGs); (2) implementation of IRFFI programs 
with reports from the World Bank (WB) and UN Development 
Group (UNDG); and (3) future perspectives on IRFFI - to 
discuss the way forward.  The following guidance pertains 
mainly to the first session (on governance and the ToR), and 
the final session (on the future of IRFFI). 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  General Points on Iraqi Leadership:  We endorse 
views expressed by the EC and others that the exercise of 
genuine Iraqi leadership will be central to the success of 
IRFFI and the ICI.  We look to GoI to exercise its leadership 
in ways that demonstrate its capabilities to deliver upon its 
National Vision for Iraq as a peaceful and stable nation 
where its people are well-served by their government.  Iraqi 
leadership will best be demonstrated by concerted and 
sustained action effectively to spend GoI and IRFFI funds and 
to implement the ICI beginning with the establishment of an 
effective secretariat serving both IRFFI and the ICI. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  IRFFI Timeline and Resources:  We concur in 
observations made by IRFFI Co-Chair Ambassador de Martino 
(Italy) that the timeline end-date for IRFFI activities 
should be aligned with the life span of the ICI to run 
through to the end of the year 2012.  We note from informal 
IRFFI DC discussions in New York (see reftel State 149144) 
that a number of countries want to add funding resources to 
IRFFI and would encourage the DC actively to seek additional 
funds to be expended during IRFFI's remaining lifetime. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) IRFFI Terms of Reference:  The IRFFI ToR must make 
clear that the IRFFI on a priority basis supports 
accomplishing the goals and benchmarks of the ICI, that the 
ICI clarifies and substantially implements Iraq's National 
Development Strategy (NDS) and that the NDS should 
encorporate the ICI Joint Monitoring Matrix (which elaborates 
the ICI benchmarks).  Following the recommendations of the 
SCAN consultants who reviewed the ToR, the new ToR should 
establish that the chairmanship of the IRFFI DC should be 
held by a representative of a donor country or organization. 
Recognizing that the IRFFI still has important contributions 
to make in the fields of relief and reconstruction, the new 
IRFFI ToR should be broadened to allow IRFFI resources to go 
to supporting Iraq's internally displaced persons as well as 
protecting the most vulnerable of Iraq's citizens. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Role of the Iraq Strategic Review Board (ISRB) and 
Sectoral Working Groups (SWGs):  The ISRB and its SWGs face 
an ambitious agenda and must better focus and strengthen 
their efforts toward implementation of the ICI.  We agree 
that the SWGs should serve both the IRFFI and the ICI. 
However, only two SWGs have met (for Energy and Human 
Development) and progress is spotty.  The GoI, with the 
strong support of the UN and World Bank, must work harder to 
stand-up all of the SWGs; the SWGs play crucial roles for 
bringing together Iraq's ministries and provinces with donors 
and investors.  We urge the GoI to adopt firm times for 
standing-up all SWGs before the end of 2007, and to task the 
SWGs with publishing their Sectoral Development Strategies 
before mid-year 2008.  The Sectoral Development Strategies 
should emphasize mobilizing Iraqi resources, identify 
requirements for ministerial and provincial capacity 
development, indicate where other donor assistance in all its 
forms is needed, and point to areas where private enterprises 
and investors (domestic and foreign) can play greater roles. 
Working with IRFFI and individual donor countries, the SWGs 
should explore "project co-sharing" where diverse Iraqi and 
international resources can be aligned or co-mingled to 
 
STATE 00149147  002 OF 002 
 
 
leverage results. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  IRFFI and ICI Secretariats:  Thanks to the 
European Commission (EC), WB, Italy and other DC country 
members for supporting efforts to stand-up the secretariats. 
We urge the GoI and the UN to complete staffing for the ICI 
secretariat by the end of November.  This will be integral to 
 
SIPDIS 
getting the SWGs to begin meeting.  The IRFFI secretariat 
should work closely with the ICI secretariat, or in time be 
merged into the ICI secretariat.  With the help of 
consultants and advisors, including from the UN and World 
Bank, the secretariats should collaborate with IRFFI donors 
and ICI partners to build upon Iraq's Development Assistance 
Database in order to clarify the current status, timelines 
and aims of pledged donor assistance.  They should also 
collaborate with the Ministry of Planning and Development 
Cooperation's (MoPDC's) Central Office of Statistics and 
Information Technology (COSIT) much more fully to develop 
national and provincial data on capital investment from all 
national and foreign sources (public and private).  Such 
efforts to track capital investment should complement and 
help to improve the Ministry of Finance's monitoring and 
reporting of capital budget execution.  This information is 
needed for Iraq's national account data on Gross Fixed 
Capital Formation - a key component of GDP and indicator of 
current and future development.  Equally important is to 
develop greater visibility and recognition of the 
considerable contributions to Iraqi relief and reconstruction 
that are being made by its development partners both 
bilaterally and multilaterally, as through the IRFFI. 
RICE