VZCZCXRO2261
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #1526/01 1811033
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301033Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5288
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 7881
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 001526 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PHUM PGOV ET
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY LEW AND PRIME MINISTER MELES 
DISCUSS U.S. ASSISTANCE TO ETHIOPIA 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  Prime Minister Meles told visiting 
Deputy Secretary Lew on June 29 that he was grateful for U.S. 
assistance to Ethiopia, and they both agreed that shifting 
from emergency food aid to sustainable agriculture 
development should be a priority for Ethiopia.  Meles was 
comfortable with U.S. provision of humanitarian aid to 
Ethiopia, but worried that development aid might be tied to 
human rights and democracy conditions.  Meles made a case for 
direct U.S. assistance to Ethiopia, rather than going through 
NGOs who, he said, ate up part of the aid in administration 
costs.  However, Meles was concerned that a shift away from 
emergency aid would expose the support to political 
conditions from the U.S. Congress that were "unhelpful," and 
based on "wrong" ideas.  Deputy Secretary Lew assured Meles 
that Ethiopia remained a strategic partner of the U.S., but 
he noted that Washington had concerns about the direction of 
political space for the opposition and increasing 
restrictions on NGOs.  He urged Meles to ease the 
restrictions and release imprisoned opposition leader 
Birtukan Mideksa, so that the 2010 elections would be a 
success.  End Summary. 
 
Sustainable Agriculture Development Needed for Ethiopia 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Deputy Secretary Lew opened by explaining to the 
Prime Minister that the United States was looking at 
reforming the way it provided foreign assistance, and he said 
one of the U.S. goals for Ethiopia was to move from emergency 
food assistance to sustainable agriculture development. 
Meles agreed that there was a need for agriculture 
development in Ethiopia where 85 percent of the population 
were small scale farmers.  He went on to note that this kind 
of development required more investment than the Ethiopian 
government could afford, and he asserted that the donor 
community had failed to live up to its commitments in 
Ethiopia.  He said the donor community had agreed to provide 
40 percent of Ethiopia's needs, while his government had 
agreed to provide the remaining 60 percent  (Note: We are 
unaware of such an agreement.  End Note.).  He insisted that 
Ethiopia had kept its side of the bargain, but the donors had 
not.  He complained that the donors were too erratic, and 
that there was "room for improvement." 
 
Room for Expansion in the Health Arena 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Deputy Secretary Lew said improving health care in 
Ethiopia was another U.S. priority.  Meles responded that he 
was grateful for the assistance the U.S. provided, 
particularly under PEPFAR, and he said the Ethiopian 
government had good coverage of the rural areas, but not in 
the urban areas.  Meles thought that PEPFAR aid could be more 
useful if it included programs to develop the pharmaceutical 
industry in Ethiopia to allow the manufacture of generic 
medicines. 
 
Meles: The U.S. Should Provide Direct Assistance... 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Meles stated that the provision of direct 
assistance to the Ethiopian government would be more 
efficient than using NGOs who ate up a large proportion of 
the support with administration costs.  He noted that the 
United States was the only donor country that Ethiopia 
"allowed" to use NGOs, and he upheld the British practice of 
providing direct budget support as a model Washington should 
follow.  Meles said there were "thousands" of NGOs in 
Ethiopia, and that this produced overlap and unnecessary 
"reinventing of the wheel."  Deputy Secretary Lew responded 
that while direct support had some advantages, the U.S. would 
continue to balance its assistance between the Ethiopian 
government and NGOs, particularly when the government lacked 
capacity to absorb direct funding. 
 
...Without Conditions 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The Prime Minister again acknowledged the need to 
move from emergency assistance to sustainable development, 
but he cautioned that the move had "certain risks," as he 
believed that moving to the latter exposed aid to the 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001526  002 OF 002 
 
 
imposition of political conditions by the U.S. Congress.  As 
an example, Meles referred to H.R. 1125 Omnibus 
Appropriations Act, 2009 which required congressional 
notification for the provision of military assistance to 
Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Sudan, among others.  Meles 
misinterpreted the act to be a prohibition of all military 
assistance beyond current programs to Ethiopia.  Meles 
complained that U.S. support in recent years had been prone 
to "surprises" for Ethiopia, including H.R. 1125, a condition 
he wanted to avoid in the future.  Meles also complained that 
listing Ethiopia together with Sudan and Zimbabwe was unfair 
to Ethiopia.  Deputy Secretary Lew and Ambassador Yamamoto 
reminded Meles that the legislation merely required 
congressional notification on assistance to Ethiopia, a 
common practice in Washington, and that it did not prohibit 
any type of aid. 
 
 
Meles: "Birtukan Will Stay in Prison" 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  On the domestic political front, Deputy Secretary 
Lew assured Meles that Ethiopia remained a vital strategic 
partner of the United States, and did not equate Ethiopia 
with Zimbabwe and Sudan, but he emphasized that as partners, 
Washington had concerns about the direction of the domestic 
political environment within Ethiopia.  Specifically, the 
Deputy Secretary said with the 2010 elections rapidly 
approaching, Washington wanted to see the political space 
expanded, and see opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa released 
from prison.  Meles chose not discuss the issue of closing of 
political space, but provided an extended explanation of why 
Birtukan would now serve out her life sentence.  Meles said 
Birtukan had been playing "political games," and had violated 
the terms of her pardon.  Therefore, he insisted that she 
would remain in prison, and that this was an issue where 
Washington and the U.S. congress was "wrong."  Deputy 
Secretary Lew pushed back and again urged Meles to reconsider 
this issue. 
 
¶7.  (U)  Deputy Secretary Lew cleared this cable. 
YAMAMOTO