VZCZCXRO3020
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKUK
RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHFR #1203/01 1771646
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251646Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3556
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0748
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0649

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PARIS 001203 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SCA/A:TWILDER A/COO:SPIERCE EUR/WE:CPALMER P:TWEST(INFO) 
D:EWITTENSTEIN(INFO) EEB:NWEBER S/P:WWOLMAN(INFO) 
S:CQUADE(INFO) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EFIN PREL PGOV AORC FR AF XB XF XG XR
XD, ZK, CA, MK, UNDP 
SUBJECT: PARIS SUPPORT CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN: DONORS 
SUPPORT SRSG EIDE AND ANDS, CITE NEED FOR ANTI-CORRUPTION 
STEPS, AND PLEDGE OVER $20 BILLION FOR ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: A. A) KABUL 1150 
     ¶B. B) KABUL 1314 
     ¶C. C) KABUL 1410 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified - not for internet 
distribution. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY: International pledges totaled more than 
$20 billion at the Paris Support Conference for Afghanistan 
on June 12.  This amount doubled the pledge total achieved at 
the 2006 London Conference and demonstrated the international 
community's long-term commitment to Afghanistan.  Donors 
committed to supporting an Afghan-led development strategy 
and putting money behind the plan.  First Lady Laura Bush and 
Secretary Rice announce the US. pledge of $10.2 billion over 
the next two years, clarifying that $7.1 billion of the 
pledge is still awaiting Congressional approval. 
 
President Sarkozy, President Karzai, and UN Secretary Ban 
Ki-moon opened the conference, announcing key themes that 
resonated in each delegation's interventions throughout the 
day.  These themes included: 
 
-Align international community support with the priorities 
identified by the Afghans in the new five-year Afghanistan 
National Development Strategy (institution building, 
agriculture, energy and rule of law); 
 
-Support UN Special Representative Kai Eide as the lead in 
donor coordination; provide resources for successful 2009 and 
2010 presidential and parliamentary elections, the next test 
of Afghanistan's nascent democracy; 
 
-Commit to a joint civilian-military approach to developing a 
secure and stable Afghanistan; 
 
-Pledge to improve aid effectiveness and increase Afghan 
ownership of development; 
 
-And support the Government of Afghanistan to take concrete 
steps to fight corruption and improve accountability. 
 
Although President Karzai did not announce concrete steps to 
fight corruption, the Afghan Government did present its 
development priorities and listed key action items to support 
a market-based economy. END SUMMARY. 
 
---------------------- 
POLITICAL COMMITMENTS 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) THE AFGHAN GOVERNMENT: President Hamid Karzai 
expressed the Afghan Government's gratitude to the 
international community for its generosity, noting that 
Afghanistan would not be where it is today if it were not for 
the sacrifices of Afghanistan's partners.  He estimated the 
cost of Afghanistan's war- only that which could be measured 
in money- conservatively at $500 billion.  He stated that 
with the approved Afghanistan National Development Strategy 
(ANDS), the Afghan Government came to the conference with a 
development strategy for the international community to 
support, a key US. objective for the conference. 
 
¶3. (U) Karzai said Afghanistan was entering a new phase of 
consolidation and sustainable development, and the main 
threat remained regional and international terrorism.  Karzai 
committed the Afghan Government to pursuing regional 
cooperation, acceleration of the development of the Afghan 
National Security Forces, reconciliation with those who put 
down their arms and backed the Afghan Government and its 
constitution, fighting the narcotics scourge through a 
meaningful commitment to alternative development, and 
investing in agriculture to improve food security. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On corruption, Karzai said a Commission would 
address corruption, and that his government would follow 
through on its recommendations.  (NOTE: In their statements, 
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other donors pushed the 
government for a clearer commitment to fight corruption. END 
NOTE.) Karzai assured the international community that the 
2009 and 2010 elections would be successful and that the 
Afghan Independent Election Commission seeks assistance. 
 
PARIS 00001203  002 OF 004 
 
 
President Karzai Minister Ahadi, and Economic Advisor Naderi 
all said that the international community channel more money 
through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund and the 
Afghan budget in order to improve aid effectiveness and 
increase Afghan ownership of development.  Minister Ahadi 
claimed the Afghan Government is able to absorb more 
resources and deliver services, contrary to what many donors 
believe. 
 
¶5. (U) Minister Ahadi also announced the Afghan Government's 
prioritization of development needs and its commitment to 
economic reform, revenue generation, and progress towards 
fulfilling the International Monetary Fund's requirements. 
He highlighted building and reforming state institutions to 
serve the Afghan people as the number one priority.  In 
economic development, Ahadi prioritized agriculture and 
energy, then roads and education.  He said the Ring Road 
would be completed by 2009 and a focus on connecting 
districts to markets was critical.  Ahadi also committed the 
Afghan Government to a long list of economic reforms, 
including development a credit-investment bureau and a bank 
training institute, maintaining macro economic stability and 
a moderate monetary policy, increasing supervision of the 
banking sector, raising the percentage of revenue to gross 
domestic product to ten percent by 2013 (currently seven 
percent), working with the National Assembly on the stalled 
tax bill, reducing the losses in customs duties, asking 
parliament to raise the cost of government services, 
reforming the energy sector, privatizing state owned 
enterprises, and disengaging from the provision of goods and 
services that the private sector can provide.  He noted that 
the government had already executed two of the three IMF 
prior actions (related to correcting for the Afghan 
government's missing a 2008 IMF program revenue target) and 
was making progress on the third. 
 
¶6. (U) Afghan National Security Advisor Rassoul discussed the 
Afghan Government's commitment to improving governance, 
public administration and human rights, noting they were key 
factors to meeting economic development goals.  He said the 
Afghanistan National Development Strategy was built through 
significant participatory consultation, and highlighted the 
steady progress of the National Justice Program in creating 
the human resources necessary to provide stable and 
predictable justice.  He committed the Afghan Government to 
embarking on increased specialization and diversification of 
justice, reform of public administration, implementing the 
National Action Plan for Women, providing a definite 
mechanism to provide for participation of private sector, 
NGOs, women, and youth in governance, and creating a disaster 
preparedness and response system.  Rassoul highlighted the 
creation of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance 
(IDLG) as a key vehicle to delivering good governance at the 
local level.  He said the Afghan Government's main objective 
is to create an accountable state that can respond to their 
needs is the goal of the Afghan people. 
 
---------------- 
UNITED STATES 
---------------- 
 
¶7. (U) FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH: In her opening remarks, the 
First Lady announced the USG's $10.2 billion pledge to 
support the five-year Afghanistan National Development 
Strategy.  Mrs. Bush made a compelling case for robust 
continuing international support, particularly for the 
education of Afghanistan's women and children.  She also 
noted the progress that previous donations have made in the 
lives of the Afghan people, drawing on examples from her 
visits to Afghanistan and her meetings with Afghans visiting 
the United States. 
 
¶8. (U) SECRETARY RICE: Secretary Rice specified that the 
United States is committing $10.2 billion to reconstruction 
and security assistance over the next two years, $7.1 billion 
of which is awaiting Congressional approval.  She noted that 
the pledge included $201 million for the 2008 and 2009 
elections.  The Secretary highlighted the tremendous progress 
Afghanistan has made since the Taliban were removed from 
power- its nascent and emerging local governance, strong 
security forces, and stable currency - and explained how 
these successes are a clear sign of political will to 
 
PARIS 00001203  003 OF 004 
 
 
develop.  She also warned that many challenges remain, and 
the US. pledge is meant to put money behind an Afghan-led 
strategy to address these challenges. 
 
------------------------ 
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY 
------------------------ 
 
¶9. (U) UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE KAI EIDE: After listing the 
remarkable successes the international community and Afghan 
Government had already achieved, he noted that challenges 
remain: corruption undermines the success of governance and 
the international community has not invested as much as it 
should have in energy and agriculture.  Where success has 
happened, Eide created strong political leadership had been 
strong. 
 
He described his vision for an enhanced partnership, which he 
called the "New Deal" between Afghan Government and the 
international community, with five main goals, namely: 
 
-1- The Afghanistan National Development Strategy must be a 
common road map for Afghanistan and donors, and the Afghan 
Government must take full responsibility for implementation; 
 
-2- The international community must align its commitments to 
the strategy and make the Afghan Government's priorities its 
priorities; 
 
-3- The international community must deliver aid more 
effectively and channel as much as possible through the 
Afghan Government in order to improve its capacity; 
 
-4- The Afghan Government must improve administration and 
combat corruption; and 
 
-5- The international community must improve its 
communication with the Afghan Government by ensuring that it 
speaks with one voice when providing advice.  Eide observed 
that every province needs to see the benefits of working with 
the international community, not just those where the 
international community has a security interests (e.g., 
poppy-producing provinces). 
 
¶10. (U) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: The World Bank 
and International Monetary Fund followed Eide, commending the 
Afghanistan National Development Strategy and the 
participatory consultation that went into it.  They 
highlighted the need for financial management improvements 
(budget and procurement), better public sectors, and 
creations of better linkages to poverty reduction.  The Bank 
and the Fund both pushed the Afghan Government to focus on 
revenue collection.  Rio Portugal of the Fun stated that 
Afghanistan's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility would 
continue until March 2009, paving the way for debt relief 
under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative. 
 
¶11. (U) CIVIL SOCIETY AND PRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVES: 
Members of civil society and private sector reported on the 
outcomes of the May 24 civil society forum chaired by French 
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.  The civil society 
representative underlined the need for an improved enabling 
environment for civil society, noting that authorities must 
see a vibrant civil society as an aim unto itself and need to 
allocate funds along those lines.  The private sector 
representative said corruption and insecurity were hindering 
private sector partnerships as key to economic growth and 
improved aid effectiveness.  A member of the human rights 
commission also pressed upon the Afghan Government and the 
international community the need to maintain respect of human 
rights and full participation of women at the center of every 
policy for peace to be achieved. 
 
¶12. (U) DONOR SENTIMENT: Donors generally spoke with a united 
voice, noting the tremendous progress made since 2001 and the 
many challenges that remain.  In announcing pledges, donors 
described how their funds would back the Afghan-led strategy. 
 Several speakers highlighted the 2009 and 2010 elections as 
the next benchmarks for Afghanistan's nascent democracy and 
the need to support their success.  All interventions 
expressed support for the leadership of Kai Eide and a 
commitment to improving aid effectiveness, while pressuring 
 
PARIS 00001203  004 OF 004 
 
 
the Afghan Government to improve accountability and take 
concrete steps to fight corruption.  Many agreed to the 
Afghan request for more funding channeled through the Afghan 
budget. 
 
----------------------- 
FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS 
----------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) US. PLEDGE: In the remarks described above, the First 
Lady and Secretary Rice announced the US. $10.2 billion 
pledge to support the five-year Afghanistan National 
Development Strategy.  Secretary Rice specified that the 
United States was committing $10.2 billion to reconstruction 
and security assistance over the next 2 years ,$7,1 billion 
of which is awaiting congressional approval.  She noted that 
the pledge included $201 million for the 2009 and 2010 
elections. 
 
¶14. (SBU) INTERNATIONAL PLEDGES: Donors far exceed 
expectations by tallying another $10 billion in pledges to 
support the Afghanistan National Development Strategy on top 
of the US. pledge.  Pledges included commitments made since 
the 2006 London Conference and beyond, ranging in length from 
one to five years.  Some of the major contributions included 
the World Bank at $1.1 billion, the Asian Development Bank at 
$1.3 billion, Canada at $1.9 billion, the UK and the European 
Commission at over $1 billion, Norway at $775 million, 
Germany at $650 million, and Japan at $550 million.  A 
notable contribution to rural development came from France, 
Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Poland, who banded 
together to fund a "Marshall Plan for Agriculture."  The 
United Arab Emirates pledge of $250 million while Saudi 
Arabia pledged $148 million.  Several new donors, e.g., Malta 
and Brazil, made pledges while many of the largest donors 
increased their assistance levels. 
 
¶15. (U) THE FRENCH CONTRIBUTION: President Sarkozy announced 
French financial aid would be "more than doubled," with 
priority given to agriculture and health, bringing its 
assistance up to $165 million over the next two years.  The 
objective of the aid, Sarkozy said, was "to rid Afghanistan 
of terrorists and of drugs."  Sarkozy said that "the future 
of an Islam of peace and an Islam of tolerance (which) goes 
beyond the question of Afghanistan" was at stake.  FM 
Kouchner stated that the Conference had exceeded the GOF's 
expectations, noting that it was "a success because we were 
expecting in our dreams 17 billion dollars" noting that more 
than 80 countries and international organizations attended 
the Conference. 
 
¶16. (SBU) COMMENT: The 2008 International Support Conference 
sent a clear signal of the international community's 
long-term commitment to Afghanistan, notably by doubling the 
financial contributions achieved at the London Conference. 
While President Karzai's failure to deliver a strong, 
concrete plan to tackle corruption was disappointing, the 
Afghan Government successfully presented a strategy for the 
international community to support, announced its development 
priorities (institution building, agriculture, energy), and 
made clear commitments to economic reform. 
 
¶17. Deputy Assistant Secretary and Coordinator for 
Afghanistan Patrick S. Moon reviewed this cable. 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Fran ce 
 
STAPLETON