Cablegate: Estonia: Pledging for Afghanistan at The

VZCZCXRO4129
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTL #0163 1351318
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141318Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0617
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0354
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE 1234
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0039
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TALLINN 000163

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR LAUREN FRESE SCA/A

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN KDEM PGOV PREL EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA: PLEDGING FOR AFGHANISTAN AT THE
PARIS CONFERENCE

REF A: 08 STATE 44359

B: 06 TALLINN 51
C: 07 TALLINN 432

1. (U) On April 29, we delivered points in ref A to
Marje Luup, Estonian MFA Division Director for
Development Cooperation. Luup told us the Government
of Estonia (GOE) agrees with the USG suggestion to
differentiate between old and new pledges at the Paris
Conference. The GOE is planning to allocate a
significantly larger sum of development assistance to
Afghanistan this year. However, it is not prepared to
release the exact amount at this time. (Note: GOE
assistance to Afghanistan was USD 100,000 in 2006 and
USD 120,000 in 2007. See reftels B and C.)

2. (U) The GOE also considers the election process to
be an important step in the democratic development of
Afghanistan and in 2007 donated funds through the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the amount
of USD 50,000 to aid in the census. Currently, the GOE
is considering various options to continue its support
of the elections process.

3. (U) The GOE is also calling upon its international
partners to maintain their generosity when making
financial pledges in Paris and to engage in a forward-
looking analysis of the policies in Afghanistan. In
particular, the GOE will stress the following points
at the Paris Conference:

--In order to strengthen the Afghan State, both the
international community and the Afghans need to
address the factors that undermine its legitimacy:
corruption and insecurity, with narcotics being linked
to both. The instrument to do this is the Afghanistan
Compact; but it is urgent to focus on institutional
reform and good governance, and to get results. In
this context, the implementation of the Afghanistan
National Development Strategy (ANDS) is important.

--There is a need to strengthen the role of the UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in
coordinating donors' civilian efforts. By working
closely with the UNAMA, NATO and other key actors will
improve the coordination within the international
community and with the Government of Afghanistan.

PHILLIPS

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