Cablegate: Canada and Paris Support Conference for Aghanistan

VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHOT #0638 1291737
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081737Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7825
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0182
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0998
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0413

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000638

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/A (FRESE)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AF CA EAID ECON EFIN KDEM PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: CANADA AND PARIS SUPPORT CONFERENCE FOR AGHANISTAN

REF: A. STATE 44359
B. OTTAWA 32155

Sensitive but unclassified

(sbu) Canada is still considering the "focus and the scale"
of its pledge at the Paris Support Conference for Afghanistan
in June, according to Richard Arbeiter, the Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Acting Director for
Policy and Advocacy on the Afghanistan Task Force. In
responding to Ref A points on May 7, he also reaffirmed that
Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier will likely lead the Canadian
delegation in Paris. Arbeiter added that Canada had been
receiving "conflicting messages" from France about whether
the June meeting would be a "political" or "pledging"
conference. He said the first time that France had asked if
Canada would be pledging funds was during a May 7 morning
conference call that included Canadian, French, and USG
officials. Arbeiter also asked about rumors that President
Bush might attend the Paris Conference and inquired into the
scale of the expected U.S. pledge. (Comment: Septel
reports, inter alia, that Canadian Internaitonal Development
Agency (CIDA) Afghanistan Task Force Director Kevin Rex told
DAS for Afghanistan Patrick Moon that Canada would highlight
its previous $100 million pledging commitment for 2009 at the
Paris Conference. Rex also implied that Canada's actual
contribution in 2009 would exceed $100 million, which would
track with Canada's previous decisions to "plus up" its $100
million commitments in each of the past two years ($270
million in 2007 and $349 million in 2008. End Comment)

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