US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6449

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 006449 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2013 
TAGS: BEXP, ECON, IZ, PREL, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S PARTICIPATION IN MADRID DONOR'S CONFERENCE 
 
 
REF: A. STATE 287995 
     B. STATE 280992 
 
 
Classified by A/DCM Scot Marciel for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1.  (U) Baghdad Minimize Considered. 
 
 
2.  (C) SUMMARY:  Turkey is still developing its delegation 
and pledge for the Iraq Donor's Conference October 23-24 in 
Madrid, though FM Gul will not attend. On assistance, MFA 
officials could only say that  Turkey's pledge will be much 
higher than the USD 5 million pledged in Tokyo for 
Afghanistan.  Turkish MFA said the October 10 visit of the 
Iraqi delegation to Turkey was useful, but MFA was 
disappointed that only two members of Iraqi delegation were 
able to come, because they were not able to respond to the 
significant interest shown by Turkish businesses.  Turkey is 
preparing to send a 7-person team to the private sector 
conference October 23 in Madrid.  End Summary. 
 
 
Iraq Donor's Conference 
 
 
3.  (C) MFA Ambassador Okcun, who is the GOT's Coordinator 
for Iraq Rconstruction, told Econoff that Turkey has not yet 
determined who will lead the Turkish delegation at the Iraq 
Donor's Conference.  Foreign Minister Gul will not be able to 
attend; the delegation will be led by another Minister TBD. 
Ambassador Okcun and Turkey's Special Representative to Iraq 
will also be in the delegation.  Turkey has not yet decided 
what to pledge at the conference, but Okcun said that the 
final figure would be "much higher" than the USD 5 million 
that Turkey pledged for Afghan reconstruction.  He noted that 
current budget constraints meant that Turkey could not be as 
generous as it might want to be.  However, he noted that 
Turkey has already exceeded its pledge for Afghanistan and he 
expected that over the course of the program, the GOT would 
easily exceed the pledge for Iraq.  He pointed out that 
Turkey will also count in its pledge some of the expected 
expenditures it will make for Turkish peacekeeping forces in 
Iraq.  (Note:  He did not specify what kinds of expenditures 
would be included.) 
 
 
4.  (U) Okcun said the GOT was encouraging individuals and 
NGOs to contribute to humanitarian efforts in Iraq.  He was 
scheduled to meet with three groups in the next two days, and 
he expected total private contributions to be in the millions 
of dollars. 
 
 
Visit of Iraqi Delegation 
 
 
5.  (C) Okcun said the October 10 visit of the Iraq 
delegation was useful and urged that it be repeated, 
However, he was disappointed that only Ambassador Belka and 
Mr. Al-Hakim were able to come to Turkey.  Okcun said the MFA 
arranged a series of meetings in Ankara and Istanbul with 
business groups with a strong interest in Iraq.  However, the 
small Iraqi delegation was unable to answer some important 
questions.  For example, Okcun said that Turkey's large 
agricultural bank is very interested in operating in Iraq and 
was eager to talk to Mr. Al-Shabibi from the Central Bank, 
who did not come to Turkey. 
 
 
Private Sector Conference 
 
 
6.  (SBU) Turkey plans to send a 7-person delegation to the 
Madrid Conference on the Role of the Private Sector in Iraq. 
The group was selected in coordination with the Turkish 
Chamber of Commerce.  (See delegation list in para 7.)  State 
Minister Tuzmen will not be able to attend.  Ambassador Okcun 
is the GOT point of contact for the conference.  His phone 
number in Ankara is (90-312) 287-1295. 
 
 
7.  (U) Delegation List: 
 
 
-- Omer Aydiner, Union of International Contractors 
-- Rasit Unuvar, Association of Turkish Consultant Engineers 
and Architects 
-- Cetin Nuhoglu, Association of International Transport 
-- Selahattin Onen, Turkish Employers Association of the 
Contruction Industry 
-- Sahnur Agaik, Association of Turkish Industrialists and 
Businessmen 
-- Rusen Cetin, Asssembly of Turklish Exporters 
-- Ercument Aksoy, Foreign Economic Relations Board. 
EDELMAN