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UNCLAS STATE 119783 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER ECON EAID PK
SUBJECT: FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN MEETING IN ABU DHABI 
 
¶1.  (U)  This is an action cable.  See paragraph 3 request to 
deliver talking points regarding the November 17 Friends of 
Pakistan meeting.  See also paragraph 4 requesting 
information on host government actions in connection with the 
security situation in Pakistan,s tribal belt. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Background:  There is high interest among members 
of the Friends group about U.S. views on the next meeting as 
well as on the future direction of the Friends group.  The 
Friends of Pakistan is a group of 15 nations/organizations 
which first met in New York on September 26 at the 
ministerial level to help the newly elected Pakistani 
government deal with long term security and development 
challenges.  The next meeting will be hosted by the United 
Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on November 17 at the senior 
officials level.  The U.S. delegation will be headed by SCA 
PDAS Donald Camp.  Although Pakistani Foreign Ministry 
coordinators are still finalizing the agenda, we anticipate 
the meeting will focus on a proposed work plan and 
organizational issues.  While we emphasize that the process 
be Pakistani-led, we see value in informing other Friends of 
our views. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Action addressees are requested to make the 
following points to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 
advance of the November 17 meeting.  They can be delivered in 
the form of a non-paper. 
 
Begin Talking Points: 
 
-- The U.S. is committed to the Friends of Pakistan as a 
forum in which to help the newly elected government deal with 
a range of problems - from security to economic development. 
We welcomed the broad high level participation at the meeting 
in New York, and we encourage Members to send an appropriate 
senior level official to the next meeting in Abu Dhabi on 
November 17. 
 
-- The Friends should be a Pakistani-led process.  We 
understand Pakistan will propose that the meeting in Abu 
Dhabi be primarily an organizational one, including an 
overview of their proposed plan of work.  We understand they 
are considering proposing experts' meetings on four specific 
topics - security, development, energy, and institution 
building - to be held in Islamabad, on December 4 and 5, and 
January 15 and 16, respectively. 
 
-- The Friends should not merely be a forum where Pakistan 
presents a wish list of projects.  We believe the purpose is 
to engage the Pakistanis to think strategically about their 
security and development needs, and to ensure that assistance 
works with their proposed programs to effectively address the 
challenges of the Pakistani people in a sustainable manner. 
We need to work closely with the Pakistani government to 
ensure that they take reforms necessary to make donor 
assistance as effective as possible. 
 
-- We have emphasized publicly and privately that the Friends 
is not a donors' group, despite continuing press reports to 
this effect.  In the event that the Pakistani Government 
reaches agreement with the International Monetary Fund before 
November 17, the U.S. would welcome the agreement and support 
convening of a donors' conference (under the auspices of the 
World Bank and Government of Pakistan) at a future date in 
the near-term to help fill the residual financing gap and as 
appropriate consider funding programs to ease the impact of 
economic reforms on the poorest Pakistanis.  If a 
Pakistan-IMF agreement is not reached before the November 17 
Friends meeting, the U.S. will continue to press the 
Pakistanis to reach an agreement. 
 
-- Two areas where the United States believes international 
donor coordination could be particularly effective are in the 
economic development and security in the border regions. 
 
-- Pakistan is considering a proposal to create a Frontier 
Trust Fund, to be administered by the World Bank (similar to 
the Afghan Reconstruction Fund).  We support this idea and 
urge other Members to do so as well.  To provide direction 
and integration of all elements of Pakistan,s efforts in the 
frontier, we would encourage Pakistan to both approach the 
World Bank to request the Fund and then to designate a high 
level border coordinator who has a proven track record to 
oversee the Trust Fund.  This individual should be given 
broad authority to coordinate the various development 
activities and actors in the frontier. 
 
-- The United States remains concerned with the ability of 
terrorist groups to use the border areas of Pakistan to plan 
and implement attacks against Pakistanis, Afghans, and 
coalition and donor partners. 
 
-- The U.S. believes the Friends can offer international 
support for Pakistan,s effort to eliminate terrorist 
safehavens in the Tribal areas. 
 
-- We would welcome an update by Pakistan on current security 
operations along the border, and how these activities fit 
into its overall security strategy for tackling extremism in 
the area.  We are encouraged to see numerous Pakistani 
officials express interest in security as an agenda item for 
the Friends, and we look forward to hearing the Pakistan,s 
plans and finding ways for the Friends to assist in 
implementing them. 
 
-- We expect that the agenda will include a discussion of the 
role of the UN in the Friends.  We understand the UN would be 
willing to consider providing a small secretariat, and that 
Jean Arnault, the former UN representative to Afghanistan, is 
being considered to head this initiative.  We strongly 
support a role for Arnault and the UN in this regard. 
 
End Talking Points. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Action addressees are requested to approach host 
governments for information on what diplomatic, developmental 
and other actions they have taken in connection with the 
security situation in Pakistan,s Tribal Belt. Posts should 
report responses back to Washington by November 21. 
RICE