VZCZCXRO3796
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #1832/01 3271117
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231117Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5621
INFO RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9365
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1006
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0298
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2601
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 8171
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8255
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1897
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0393
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0024
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001832 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/PB, SCA/EX 
DCHA/OFDA FOR ROBERT THAYER 
AID/W FOR AA MARK WARD AND ANE ANNE DIX 
DCHA/FFP FOR MATTHEW NIMS AND PAUL NOVICK 
BANGKOK FOR RDM/A TOM DOLAN, ROB BARTON 
KATHMANDU FOR USAID OFDA BILL BERGER 
TREASURY FOR ELIZABETH WEISS AND SUSAN CHUN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL OVIP ECON PINR EAGR SENV BG
SUBJECT:  DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE VISITS BANGLADESH 
 
REF: A) DHAKA 1808 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and USAID 
Administrator Henrietta Fore November 20 visited Bangladesh to 
assess damage from Cyclone Sidr and offer USG support for relief 
efforts.  During her visit she conducted an aerial survey of 
cyclone-hit regions, met with the Bangladesh Chief Adviser, handed 
over 35 tons in relief supplies, met international donors and relief 
organizations, and was briefed by the U.S. military's humanitarian 
assistance survey team.  Administrator Fore's visit received wide 
and favorable media coverage.  Bangladeshi interlocutors welcomed 
both Administrator Fore's visit and USG humanitarian assistance, 
noting a need for immediate aid as well as long-term support as 
Bangladesh slowly recovers from the devastating effects of the 
cyclone.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and USAID Administrator 
Henrietta Fore November 20 visited Bangladesh, which is still 
reeling from the destruction caused by Cyclone Sidr. (reftel and 
septels) Administrator Fore, joined by Charg d'Affaires a.i. Pasi, 
USAID Mission Director Rollins, and Bangladesh Secretary for Food 
and Disaster Management Dr. Ayub Miah, surveyed by air a portion of 
the region hit hardest by the cyclone.  As the delegation flew over 
the southwest coastal district of Barguna, it noted widespread 
damage caused to homes, crops and business enterprises.  Banana 
trees were snapped, rice paddies were awash in seawater, and even 
large ferries were tossed aground by the powerful cyclone. 
 
BANGLADESH'S CHIEF ADVISER IDENTIFIES NEEDS 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In a meeting with Administrator Fore, Bangladesh Chief 
Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed thanked her for the condolences and support 
pouring in from the United States, and noted President Bush's and 
Secretary Rice's messages.  He welcomed continued USG humanitarian 
 
SIPDIS 
assistance, though he noted that all relief efforts need to be 
coordinated under "the umbrella" of the Government of Bangladesh 
(GOB).  The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh had immediate and long 
term needs in the wake of the cyclone.  He identified an immediate 
need for food, including rice, wheat, lentils and edible oil; cash 
to rebuild homes and restore farms; and drinking water.  The Chief 
Adviser noted that many roads and road embankments had been washed 
away by the cyclone; these networks are important to Bangladesh's 
economic growth. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Chief Adviser also focused on the country's medium- 
and long-term requirements following the cyclone, in particular the 
need to restore livelihoods and infrastructure.  The Chief Adviser 
said he is pushing the GOB to distribute cash, in addition to 
supplies, as part of its relief efforts.  By giving cash, cyclone 
victims have the power to manage their response to the tragedy; they 
can use the cash to help repair their homes or their livelihoods, 
whichever is needed most.  Cash disbursement also bolsters the local 
economy more broadly, he observed.  The Chief Adviser also noted the 
need for Bangladeshis to rebuild in new ways. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Chief Adviser told Administrator Fore that over the 
long term Bangladesh's infrastructure, which already faces 
constraints, will need major repairs, including roads, road and 
river embankments, and rural electrification networks.  The Chief 
Adviser said the GOB particularly desires USG assistance in this 
area.  He observed that it was too soon to tell how the cyclone 
would affect economic growth in Bangladesh this year, but there 
would certainly be a dip in agricultural production, which has 
already been affected by heavy monsoonal flooding earlier in the 
year.  He noted the need for new roads to bring economic growth to a 
greater number of people. 
 
RELIEF SUPPLIES FOR 12,000 ARRIVE 
 
¶6.  (U) At Zia International Airport, Administrator Fore presented 
35 tons of recently-arrived relief supplies to Dr. Ayub Miah, the 
senior GOB representative coordinating disaster relief.  The 
supplies, which include temporary shelter materials, jerricans and 
 
DHAKA 00001832  002 OF 002 
 
 
hygiene kits for 12,000 families, will be distributed by USAID donor 
partners CARE and Save the Children. 
 
ADMINISTRATOR FORE MEETS WITH DONORS 
 
¶7.  (U) Administrator Fore met with chiefs of mission from the UK, 
Canadian and Australian High Commissions; chiefs of party from DFID, 
UNDP, Save the Children (US), CARE, and Wolrd Vision; and a 
representative from the International Federation of the Red 
Cross/Red Crescent. Discussions focused on distinguishing short-term 
relief needs from medium to long term reconstruction efforts.  The 
group identified immediate needs as potable water, food, temporary 
shelter, and logistical support to move donations and other 
domestically available supplies such as medicine. From initial 
surveys it is also evident that varying needs exist across the 
affected areas. 
 
¶8. (U) The group's consensus was that the long term disaster 
recovery effort presents broad challenges associated with the 
subsistence-level conditions of economic development for the 
impacted communities.  Given the predisposition of much of 
Bangladesh to this sort of catastrophe, changes are needed in 
dwelling patterns and community design. For landless people without 
fixed assets, sustained economic opportunity is the only solution to 
the status-quo conditions of poverty, which are only exacerbated by 
the economic shocks caused by natural disasters. 
 
VISIT RECEIVES BROAD PRESS COVERAGE 
 
¶9.  (U) Administrator Fore's visit received wide media coverage from 
both domestic and foreign press.  All major Bangla and English 
language daily newspapers carried stories on her trip.  She was 
interviewed by ABC and CNN.  Her CNN interview was broadcast live at 
7 p.m. local time November 20 during CNN International's World News 
Asia newscast and was carried by CNN US and CNN Radio. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Administrator Fore's visit, as well as the USG assistance 
being mobilized, has been welcomed in Bangladesh.  Bangladeshis are 
aware of USG support received during the nation's 36-year history, 
including during national calamities.  This message resonated during 
Administrator Fore's visit, as she referred to her 1991 visit 
following another devastating cyclone, when she was an Assistant 
USAID Administrator. 
 
¶10.  (U) Administrator Fore cleared this message. 
 
PASI