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O 142254Z APR 09 
FM USDEL SECRETARY//EUROPE// 
TO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE 
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 PARTO 041407 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP PREL EAID AF NL
SUBJECT: Conference on Afghanistan, March 31, 2009, The 
Hague 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: This cable summarizes -- by theme -- 
statements by national delegations and NGOs during the 
March 31 Afghanistan Conference in The Hague. The 
Secretary and the UN Special Representative both used 
the event to bring the international community together 
around the U.S. strategy and to move to implementation. 
Key themes included commitments to Afghanistan, 
security, civilian-military cooperation, regional 
cooperation, elections, development, Afghan leadership, 
reconciliation with insurgents, narcotics trafficking, 
and corruption. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. BACKGROUND: Entitled "International Conference on 
Afghanistan: a Comprehensive Strategy in a Regional 
Context," the event was organized by the UN, the 
Netherlands, and Afghanistan, and hosted in The Hague on 
March 31. More than eighty countries and international 
organizations participated. UNSYG Ban and Special 
Representative Eide led the UN delegation. Afghan 
President Karzai and FM Spanta led the Afghan 
delegation. Dutch PM Balkenende, FM Verhagen, and 
Development Minister Koenders spoke for the Netherlands. 
Secretary Clinton led the U.S. delegation and used the 
conference to explain the conclusions of the recent U.S. 
strategic review of the region and to engage in 
bilateral discussions (reported septel). 
 
¶3. BACKGROUND, continued: Additional materials on the 
conference and full statements for many nations, including 
the Chairs' concluding statement, are available on the 
conference website, afghanistanconference2009.minbuza.nl. 
An audio file of the Secretary's intervetion is available at 
http://afghanistanconference2009.minbuza.nl/g sp.dll?sid= 
266&pid=1&p_menuid=47&p_parentmenuid=2. Dutch media and 
political reaction to the cable will be reported septel. 
U.S. meetings on the margins are also reported septel. 
 
¶4. UN Representative Kai Eide used his opening and 
closing statements to strike two themes. His first was 
"enough gloom and doom;" let's identify programs that 
work and build on them. Second, he looked to identify 
real priorities among the many goals of previous 
conferences, and the statement he issued at the end of 
the conference reflected these key targets in the major 
baskets. Secretary Clinton hit the same notes in her 
remarks and her private meetings, talking to both 
President Karzai and Foreign Minister Qureshi about 
developing work plans and implementation groups to carry 
the now-agreed strategy. 
 
---------------------- 
KARZAI CLAIMS PROGRESS 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. Afghan President Karzai described the progress made 
in the past seven years, claiming Afghanistan has "been 
on the forefront of removing terrorism," developed 
newfound freedoms of speech and politics, and witnessed 
the return of five million refugees. He welcomed 
President Obama's Afghanistan-Pakistan proposal and said 
he is fully committed to partnership with the United 
States and international community. Karzai cited four 
specific areas where the Afghans will need continued 
help: security; development; rebuilding; and 
reconciliation. 
 
¶6. On security, Karzai stated the need to isolate, 
reform, or remove parties that support terrorism. To 
accomplish this, he asked for an urgent increase in the 
 
PARTO 00000007 002 OF 005 
 
 
size of the police force. Karzai identified sustainable 
development as an effective means of combating 
terrorism, noting that agriculture and energy should be 
top priorities. He pledged to root out corruption and 
said special Afghan intelligence and justice units were 
being formed to combat corruption, and would include 
government officials up to the cabinet level as targets. 
Karzai claimed progress had been made in addressing 
poppy cultivation but acknowledged problems remained in 
areas outside of the government's control. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
FINANCIAL, TROOP, AND OTHER COMMITTMENTS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. Although conference organizers noted this was not a 
pledging conference, several countries committed to 
assisting Afghanistan. China mentioned that it would 
provide an extra $75 million over the next five years, 
and Spain said it would contribute a total of $120 
million from 2010 to 2012. Germany mentioned 
contributing additional funds, but did not specify a 
dollar amount. Some countries, such as Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, New Zealand, and Latvia, discussed the 
possibility of increasing troop involvement. Many 
countries, including Australia, Germany, Turkey, the 
Former Republic of Macedonia, and the European Union 
Commission, affirmed the importance of contributing to 
military and police training. There were general 
affirmations of support from countries like France, 
which made an important gendarmerie proposal, and South 
Korea. 
 
¶8. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for 
Afghanistan to develop a sustainable revenue base and 
pledged to help "modernize" the country's revenue 
generation. The IMF noted that donors could not fill 
the revenue gap forever. The Islamic Development Bank 
said it would extend short, medium and long term 
financing. 
 
¶9. Several countries mentioned non-financial 
commitments. Albania discussed offering scholarships to 
Afghanis studying medicine in Albania. Kazakhstan is 
working on completing railroad transit agreements for 
non-military support. Japan said it would provide 
assistance in the areas of security, political process, 
and economic development as well as partnering with the 
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). 
 
-------- 
SECURITY 
-------- 
 
¶10. Many countries highlighted security as a pressing 
concern. France, Japan, the European Commission and the 
UN agreed with the United States on the need to improve 
Afghan capacity through training with partners, an 
increase in the number of police, and more cooperation. 
Many participants spoke of moving toward an Afghan 
military and police force that could ultimately be 
responsible for providing its own security. 
 
¶11. Another theme was promoting security through non- 
military means. Pakistan, China, and Iran spoke of 
addressing the root causes of terrorism through programs 
targeted at development, reconciliation, and social 
welfare. Iran emphasized that extremism has nothing to 
do with culture, religion, or faith. In addition, 
 
PARTO 00000007 003 OF 005 
 
 
Portugal and Turkey, among others, spoke of the military 
as an important piece of the solution, but by no means 
the entire solution. 
 
---------------------------- 
CIVILIAN-MILITARY COOPERATION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶12. There was a consensus that civilian and military 
efforts needed to be integrated, a point emphasized by 
Australia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Russia, 
and the UK. Russia stated that financial aid and 
assistance should be used in a way that combined anti- 
terrorism and socio-economic measures. The UK and the 
Netherlands focused on the need to expand civilian 
expertise, in what the Netherlands called "a civilian 
surge." 
 
----------------- 
REGIONAL APPROACH 
----------------- 
 
¶13. Delegations agreed that any strategy for 
Afghanistan must address Pakistan and other neighboring 
states. Many states, including Russia, Pakistan, 
Turkey, and Iran, agreed that the instability in 
Afghanistan threatened and affected the entire region. 
These states called for cooperative and recurring 
dialogues between the major players, especially Pakistan 
and Afghanistan. 
 
--------------------- 
FREE & FAIR ELECTIONS 
--------------------- 
 
¶14. Another point of agreement was that upcoming 
presidential elections needed to be free, fair, and 
transparent. Secretary Clinton announced a U.S. 
contribution of $40 million for elections. European 
Union Commissioner Ferraro-Walder announced 40 million 
Euro. Australia, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, the 
European Union Commission, NATO and the UN emphasized 
their support for the elections process through 
financial assistance, election monitors, and troops to 
provide security. Slovakia said the international 
community had an obligation to provide security for the 
elections. China stated the international community 
needed to respect the choice that the Afghans made 
through the electoral process. 
 
--------------------------- 
DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE 
--------------------------- 
 
¶15. Support for new facilities and infrastructure, like 
roads, schools, airports, hospitals, and irrigation, 
especially in rural areas, was widespread among the 
delegations. Germany supports renovating and rebuilding 
the Mazar-i-Sharif airport, and training civilians in 
communications and navigation technology. The 
participants generally agreed that development should 
encourage the Afghans to achieve economic self reliance. 
 
¶16. The U.S. and other states also expressed support 
for agricultural initiatives, with Germany calling it a 
priority. The European Commission, in particular, 
stressed the importance of agriculture as an alternative 
to combat and poppy cultivation. 
 
 
PARTO 00000007 004 OF 005 
 
 
----------------- 
AFGHAN LEADERSHIP 
----------------- 
 
¶17. Many countries stated that Afghanistan's government 
was ultimately responsible for its future. Iran, 
France, Pakistan, Portugal, Brazil, and the Netherlands 
made the point that the Afghans needed to make their own 
choices as a society about what programs and assistance 
they needed, and that the Afghans should be encouraged 
to take ownership of security, development, 
reconstruction, and other areas as they became ready. 
 
-------------- 
RECONCILIATION 
-------------- 
 
¶18. Reconciliation was not mentioned in great detail, 
but countries seemed to agree that it was possible to 
segregate extremists from those who might be willing to 
reconcile. Russia said that former Taliban needed to 
make a clear break with Al-Qaeda and pledge to support 
the Afghan Constitution and laws. Pakistan stated that 
a genuine dialogue and inclusive politics would go a 
long way toward encouraging reconciliation. The 
Organization of the Islamic Conference condemned 
terrorism as against Islamic teachings and pledged to 
hold a conference. 
 
--------------------- 
NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING 
--------------------- 
 
¶19. Russia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, and Colombia all 
weighed in on this issue. Russia appealed to all states 
to help stop narcotics trafficking, while Iran mentioned 
the need to monitor the border. Colombia brought up the 
need to break the links between narcotics trafficking 
and terrorism. Japan mentioned the need for Iranian 
help. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that opium 
production should be fought with subsidies for 
traditional agricultural commodities. 
 
---------- 
CORRUPTION 
---------- 
 
¶20. States agreed with the Secretary's position that in 
the long-term, corruption could be just as dangerous to 
success as the Taliban or al-Qaeda. France proposed 
creating a map of international aid to enhance 
oversight, while the European Commission brought up the 
need to reform the judiciary. Canada emphasized the 
need to restore the rule of law. 
 
---------------- 
OTHER APPROACHES 
---------------- 
 
¶21. China and Indonesia both emphasized that in 
supporting Afghanistan, countries needed to respect its 
independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. 
Turkey called on the UN to do more, although it did not 
specify what. Other countries called for a new 
approach, with Spain saying a "Marshall Plan" was 
needed, and the Netherlands called for a "new deal" 
between Afghanistan and the international community. 
Finally, Kyrgyzstan proposed the creation of an 
international analytical center to assess and implement 
 
PARTO 00000007 005 OF 005 
 
 
programs, hold negotiations, and engage the Afghan 
government in projects. 
 
----------------------------------- 
OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶22. UN: 
 
-- UNSYG Ban called on nations to honor their previous 
commitments to Afghanistan, deploy additional troops to 
secure upcoming elections and train Afghan forces, 
improve food security, improve governance, and protect 
human rights. 
 
-- Ban's Special Representative, Kai Eide, called on 
conference participations to affirm their support for 
the Afghan development and democracy, improve regional 
cooperation and coordination, and set clear priorities 
for sustainable progress. 
 
¶23. Netherlands: 
 
-- PM Balkenende noted the delegates' presence "sends a 
powerful message of hope and confidence." 
 
-- FM Verhagen noted the international community was at 
a crossroads, requiring the preparation of a new 
Afghanistan Compact. He called for improved security, 
governance, development, and regional cooperation. 
 
-- Development Minister Koenders cited progress in 
improving the quality of life of the people in 
Afghanistan, called for better coordination among allies 
and regional partners, and urged a "civilian surge" to 
expand development efforts. 
 
¶24. China: 
 
-- D/FM Dawei Wu called for respect for Afghan 
sovereignty while combating terrorism, supporting 
development, supporting elections and respecting the 
will of the Afghan people, and expanding regional 
cooperation. 
 
¶25. India: 
 
-- Special Envoy Lambah called for credible elections, 
reconstruction led by Afghanistan, combating terrorism 
and narcotrafficking, and expanding regional 
cooperation. 
 
¶26. Pakistan: 
 
-- FM Qureshi called for respect for national 
sovereignty, reconciliation, close cooperation with 
local populations to win hearts and minds, promotion of 
social welfare, capacity building for security forces, 
and fighting narcotrafficking and weapons smuggling. 
 
¶27. Iran: 
 
-- D/FM Ahkundzadeh called for coordinated measures 
against narcotrafficking, combating the root causes of 
terrorism such as poverty, strengthening regional 
cooperation, Afghan involvement and responsibility in 
its own affairs, and reconstruction. He also argued 
that additional troops would "ineffective." 
CLINTON