US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD2562

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002562 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, EAID, IZ, Parliament 
SUBJECT:  MINISTRY OF PLANNING BACK AT THE CENTER OF 
DONOR COORDINATION 
 
This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  For government 
use only.  Not for internet distribution. 
 
1. (SBU) Prime Minister Jaafari has returned primacy in 
contact with aid donors to the Ministry of Planning and 
Development Cooperation (MoPDC). 
 
2.  (SBU) Planning Minister Barham Saleh told us on June 
15 that at a meeting earlier that day Prime Minister 
Jaafari said he would reverse his decision to make 
Finance Minister Allawi the ITG's primary point of 
contact with aid donors and return the role to MoPDC. 
Saleh told us privately that the PM's decision was fully 
supported by FinMin Allawi and that he has a good 
relationship and will work well with Allawi.  Saleh 
repeated this message on June 16 to representatives of 
aid donors and other Iraqi ministries--including Finance- 
-during a meeting of the Iraq Strategic Review Board.  In 
both venues the Minister highlighted the importance of 
close collaboration between MoPDC and Finance on economic 
and development issues. 
 
3.  (SBU) In a separate meeting with Charge and Emboffs 
on June 16, confirmed Saleh's report.  Allawi took credit 
for the proposal to leave MoPDC in charge, saying that he 
had told the PM he had two options, to significantly 
revamp the donor coordination/reconstruction function-- 
not feasible in the short tenure of the ITG--or to leave 
things "as they are" with MoPDC in the lead. He said he 
and Saleh get along well and will work well together. 
 
4.  (SBU) Comment.  This is a positive development. 
Donors now have the single primary point of contact in 
the ITG that they have sought for months, and in Saleh 
they have an interlocutor who combines political savvy, a 
market-friendly attitude, and substantive understanding 
of the issues.  Moreover, the MoPDC has the bureaucratic 
infrastructure for supporting ITG dialogue with donors 
that was lacking at Finance.  At the same time, the two 
ministries are signaling every intention to work much 
more closely together on the key financing aspects of 
donor coordination, especially integrating assistance 
effectively with Iraqi budget resources.  End comment. 
Jeffrey