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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000070 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE PASS USAID, EUR/WE, EUR/ERA, EUR/PGI, AND AF/C 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2059 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID CG RW BY BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM:CENTRAL AFRICA, ESPECIALLY THE DRC, IS 
BELGIUM'S MAIN FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PRIORITY 
 
REF: A. 09 BRUSSELS 1581 
     ¶B. 09 BRUSSELS 1425 
     ¶C. 09 BRUSSELS 1315 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Howard Gutman for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Foreign Minister's Vanackere's week long 
trip to Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi from January 18 to 25, 
underscores the importance of Central Africa to Belgium.  For 
the Belgian political class and the media, Central Africa, 
especially the Congo, is the chief foreign policy concern. 
All three former colonies are partner countries for foreign 
assistance that sign agreements with the GOB and receive 
Belgian Technical Assistance personnel in country; the Congo 
received 7.6 percent of total Belgian aid in 2006.  Belgium 
has signed a new partnership agreement with Burundi that 
provides an incentive for improved political governance in 
the form of additional aid and is working on a similar 
agreement with the Congo.  The Development Minister's Chief 
of Staff recently told the Ambassador that Afghanistan could 
not become a partner country because of the weak governance 
capacity of the GoA and the security situation.  He added 
that aid could still be increased to non-partner countries. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) FM Vanackere will make his first official trip to 
Central Africa as Foreign Minister January 18 to 25. 
According to Congo Desk Officer, Hugues Chantry, FM Vanackere 
will meet all the key players.  He will be visiting: 
Kinshasa (January 18-20), Goma January 20-21, Gisenyi and 
Kigali, Rwanda January 22-23, and then Bujumbura January 
24-25.  The length of the trip underscores the importance of 
Central Africa, especially the DRC, in Belgian foreign 
policy.  During his weekly address to Parliament on January 
12, FM Vanackere said he wanted to ensure that the renewed 
friendship between Belgium and the DRC would stay on track, 
prior to the June 2010 Commemoration of Congolese 
Independence from Belgium, to which the GOB has been invited 
to participate. 
 
-------------- 
DRC Is Central 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Belgian political, economic, human rights, and foreign 
aid policy towards its former colonies in Central Africa (the 
DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi) are regularly debated in the media. 
 The Foreign Minister is often questioned more on specifics 
of Central African foreign and assistance policy by 
Parliament than any other region.  Former Foreign Minister De 
Gucht was strongly criticized for his blunt statement in 
April 2008 criticizing the DRC government, which led to a 
suspension of diplomatic ties between the DRC and Belgium for 
almost eight months.  The politically influential francophone 
Liberal (MR) Michel family has long taken a political 
interest in DRC policy.  Former FM and later EU Commissioner 
for Development Louis Michel (see ref A) was one of De 
Gucht's strongest critics.  His son Charles Michel is now 
Minister of Behn.  Even a politician@re Democratic Humanist (Cdinister of Employment and r 
in her official biohonate about 
Africa."`nce to its former colons Belgium's main aid priority.  Belgium recently 
completed a new assistance agreement with the government of 
Burun$i (ref c) that will increase guaranteed aid from EUR 40 
million to EUR 50 million per year forfour years and add a 
50 million incentive forcertain political improvements--a 
successful Qlection in 2010.  Belgium is planning a new 
agreement of EUR 75 million per year (EUR 300 mllion over 
four years) with the DRC.  This ageement will also include 
an incentive:  EUR 10 million the last two years (EUR 50 
million Qn 2013 and 2014) if the DRC holds a successful 
election in 2011 and meets certain political and 
macroeconomic governance benchmarks.  TheDRC has been the 
largest recipient by far of Belgian aid for some time; in 
2008, the GOB provided EUR 122 million or 7.6 percent of 
Belgium's global assistance to the DRC, a decrease from 11.2 
percent in 2006.  The DRC, Burundi, and Rwanda are among the 
eighteen priority countries for Belgian aid.  Priority 
 
BRUSSELS 00000070  002 OF 002 
 
 
countries must sign agreements that include the creation of a 
bilateral commission to work together to identify and 
cooperate on priority projects.  Belgian Technical assistance 
has Belgian administrators on the ground in such partner 
countries. 
 
----------- 
Afghanistan 
----------- 
 
¶5. (C) Development Minister Michel's Chief of Staff Bruno Van 
der Pluijm recently cautioned the Ambassador and A/DCM at a 
luncheon on Belgium's Africa policy (ref B), that requests to 
make Afghanistan a priority country for Belgian assistance 
were not possible and were counterproductive.  Van der Pluijm 
said establishing a bilateral commission was not plausible 
between Belgium and Afghanistan considering the weak 
governing capacity of the Afghan government.  He also cited 
the security situation as obviating the possibility of 
sending Belgian Aid technical experts to Afghanistan.  On the 
positive side, he noted Belgium's doubling of aid to 
Afghanistan from EUR 6 million to EUR 12 million, and 
explained that this money would be distributed through the UN 
and NGOs rather than administered directly by Belgium. 
Finally, he pointed out that some partner countries receive 
substantially less assistance than Afghanistan, underscoring 
the possibility of increasing aid to non-partner countries. 
(Note: Ministry of Development statistics differ.  Algeria is 
the only partner country that receives less than Afghanistan 
by a marginal amount.  End Note.)  He added that further 
requests to make Afghanistan a partner country would only 
cause frustration within Belgian Technical Cooperation and 
undermine the U.S. argument. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment:  Aid to the nations of Central Africa is and 
will remain Belgium's main assistance priority.  The United 
States should remain cognizant of this fact when we ask for 
increased assistance to U.S. aid priorities, such as 
Afghanistan.  Requests to treat U.S. priorities on the same 
footing as Belgium's traditional and current priorities will 
meet resistance.  We should stress the new importance the 
Obama Administration and Secretary Clinton place on working 
together with Belgium in Central Africa.  At the same time, 
we can remind Belgium that Afghanistan is a NATO priority 
that requires special attention. 
 
GUTMAN 
.