VZCZCXRO3641
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #0512/01 0411226
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101226Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5512
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000512 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV AF
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ECONOMIC ADVISOR AHADI OUTLINES HIS PLANS AND 
REQUESTS U.S. SUPPORT FOR STAFFING 
 
KABUL 00000512  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: President Karzai's newly named National Economic 
Advisor (NEA), Dr. Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, discussed his new role with 
Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs 
Ambassador Tony Wayne and Treasury Attache on February 7 and 
requested Embassy and other donor assistance to help him staff his 
office.  Ahadi is focused on developing a functioning structure to 
advise President Karzai on economic affairs and carry out 
inter-ministerial coordination.  Ahadi believes his office is better 
suited for inter-ministerial coordination than the proposed cluster 
ministers.  Ambassador Wayne encouraged Ahadi to use the upcoming 
Kabul Conference to demonstrate his office's role in economic 
coordination.  He stressed that all salary payments must run through 
the Ministry of Finance per a recent presidential decree.  Observing 
that the Embassy is reviewing technical support for Office of the 
President, Ambassador Wayne mentioned that Ahadi may wish to seek 
support from the new Civilian Technical Assistance Program (CTAP), 
for which AID will provide up to $30 million to the Government of 
Afghanistan for hiring non-Afghan advisors.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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ROLE OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC ADVISOR 
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¶2. (SBU) Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs 
Wayne and Treasury Attache met with former Finance Minister Ahadi on 
February 7 to discuss his new role as President Karzai's National 
Economic Advisor (NEA).  Ahadi began the meeting noting that Ishaq 
Nadiri established the office of the National cand 
work plans to monitor implementation in key line ministries. He 
claimed that this role could not be adequately addressed by the 
Ministry of Finance, which is overstretched with other budgetary 
burdens and cannot carry out the necessary analysis.  He wants the 
NEA office to develop projects to support those policies and then 
allocate budget resources.  NEA would also develop new projects on 
an annual basis in coordination with the Ministry of Economy. 
 
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CLUSTER CONCERNS 
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¶6. (SBU) Ahadi expressed concern over the "clusters" approach 
presented by GIRoA at the London Conference, arguing that the tasks 
were confusing and personality-driven and that it makes little sense 
to have the Ministry of Mines coordinate the Ministry of Public 
Works, for example.  Ahadi said he would raise his concerns with 
President Karzai in the coming days.  Ambassador Wayne agreed that 
the clustering concept was based on the strong capacities and 
personalities of the lead ministers and mentioned a recent World 
Bank study, which argued that clustering had not succeeded in many 
places and requires a lot of investment in a robust coordinating 
mechanism to function properly. 
 
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NEXT STEPS 
 
KABUL 00000512  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶7. (SBU) Ahadi requested Embassy assistance to provide salary 
support to properly staff his office.  Specifically, he sought 
senior advisors to focus on the domestic national economy and a 
development economist to cover broader donor assistance and 
coordination issues.  Ahadi also wants to hire several local experts 
to work on specific clusters/sectors which would require salary 
support equivalent to what is available to the Ministry of Finance, 
Commerce, and Central Bank.  Ambassador Wayne pledged to ask USAID 
to meet with him about possible to support the NEA office. He also 
suggested that Ahadi undertake a coordinated approach to donors and 
that he look closely at the official staffing pattern for his office 
especially given the recent presidential decree that any salary 
payments need to go through the Finance Ministry. 
 
EIKENBERRY