VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSW #0136 0861705
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271705Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5747

UNCLAS BERN 000136 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/A (T.REOTT) AND EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS EAID PTER PGOV PK AF SZ
SUBJECT: CONCLUSIONS OF AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN STRATEGIC 
REVIEW 
 
REF: A. STATE 29482 
     ¶B. BERN 120 
     ¶C. STATE 24422 
     ¶D. STATE 24367 
 
--------------- 
USG WHITE PAPER 
--------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Poloff provided a copy of the White Paper in reftel 
A on March 27 to Pierre-Yves Fux, Senior Regional Coordinator 
for Southern Asia at the Federal Department of Foreign 
Affairs (FDFA).  Fux appreciated the information, which he 
said was timely, not only with regard to the upcoming 
international conferences on Afghanistan (The Hague) and 
Pakistan (Tokyo), but because Swiss development assistance 
authorities currently are reviewing GOS assistance to 
Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Fux said that the Swiss 
Development Corporation's (SDC) Deputy for Global 
Cooperation, Joerg Frieden, will visit Islamabad and Kabul 
the week of March 30 to review SDC development assistance 
programs in both countries.  Fux remarked that Frieden will 
be the most senior SDC official to visit Kabul in years. 
With regard to the conclusions of the USG's strategic review 
of Afghanistan-Pakistan, Fux said that Switzerland is in 
complete agreement that al Qaeda and the instability in the 
region are a threat to the entire international community. 
In reviewing the various agenda items, Fux commented that 
Switzerland tends to look for innovative ways to contribute 
to conflict resolution.  In that context, he took note of the 
White Paper's reference to efforts to integrate reconcilable 
insurgents. 
 
----------- 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Fux said that the SDC Director, Ambassador Martin 
Dahinden, will lead the Swiss delegation to the March 31 
international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague (reftel 
C).  He said that Switzerland would plan to "confirm its 
commitments" to Afghanistan at the conference.  With regard 
to Swiss bilateral assistance to Afghanistan, Fux said that 
the Swiss MOD had obtained approval to provide CHF 1.2 
million (USD 1.1 million) in excess medical equipment to the 
Afghan National Security Forces.  He said that Switzerland 
was still working on a project to assist with Border 
Management training on the Afghan-Tajik border, though that 
effort had gotten somewhat bogged down.  He also mentioned 
that Switzerland remains interested in projects focused on 
the training of Afghan police women.  Fux underlined that 
Switzerland is seeking to use its limited resources in 
Afghanistan (CHF 15-20/USD 13-18 million per year) in the 
most meaningful ways possible.  (Note:  The Swiss have 
increased their staffing at their embassy in Kabul over the 
last year, from three to five Swiss nationals; approximately 
20 Afghan nationals also work at the embassy.  End Note) 
 
-------- 
PAKISTAN 
-------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Fux said that he expected that the Swiss delegation 
to the April 17 Pakistan donors' conference (reftel D) would 
be led by Ambassador Pierre Combernous, the FDFA's Head of 
the Asia and Oceania Division, though Fux emphasized that a 
final decision had not yet been made (and the conference 
hosts had not yet been informed).  He said that FM Calmy-Rey 
was scheduled to travel to Africa around the time of the 
Tokyo conference, and that FDFA State Secretary Ambuehl would 
therefore have to remain in Bern.  Fux said that, although 
Switzerland is not a member of the "Friends of Democratic 
Pakistan" group, the Swiss delegation planned to participate 
in the group's Tokyo meeting (on the margins of the donor 
conference) in "observer" status.  He remarked that 
Switzerland has had a 40-year development assistance 
relationship with Pakistan, and that Pakistan remains a 
"priority country" for Swiss development assistance until 
¶2012.  While noting that the GOS had made a decision to draw 
down its program in Pakistan (reftel C), Fux suggested that 
the FDFA was giving some consideration to how to make the 
most of available Swiss resources for Pakistan until that 
time and, perhaps, beyond.  (Note:  Swiss development 
assistance to Pakistan is approximately CHF 20 million/USD 18 
million per year.  End Note) 
CARTER