US embassy cable - 02ANKARA8150

UNCLAS ANKARA 008150 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
EB/IFD/ODF, SA/AR, SA/PAB AND EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, EFIN, EAID, PREL, AF, TU 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON TURKEY'S CONTRIBUTION TO AFGHANISTAN 
RECONSTRUCTION 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 7410 
     B. SECSTATE 200660 
 
 
1.  EmbOffs met with MFA's Afghan Reconstruction Coordinator 
Ambassador Refat Okcun 11/12 for an update on Turkey's 
reconstruction efforts. 
 
 
2.  Okcun confirmed that Turkey's completed reconstruction 
efforts now total $1.8 million, up from $1.6 reported Ref A. 
By year's end, that figure should reach $2.5 million, well 
ahead of Turkey's pledge of $5 million over five years. 
Okcun holds another $4.5 million aside, should he be unable 
to drum up outside sources that keep Turkey apace or ahead of 
its projected giving schedule. 
 
 
3.  A number of projects are in Healthcare.  Turkey is about 
to build its fourth hospital in Afghanistan (including 
Kabul's Children's Hospital, which Turkey built in 1980) and 
is seeking approval for a clinic in Bamiyan.  The Bamiyan 
clinic will increase the number of Turkish healthcare 
facilities to nine, including ones in Herat, Jalalabad and 
Kandahar.  The Turks also continue to train medical 
professionals (another 41 doctors just trained in Turkey) and 
will send three teams of three Turkish physicians each (a 
surgeon, an internal medicine specialist, an ob/gyn) to 
Afghanistan soon. 
 
 
4.  Turkey is considering diverting one of its two satellites 
towards Afghanistan to provide a television signal that can 
bring information, news, educational and other programming to 
Afghans.  No decision has been made yet on how to transmit 
the signal on the ground -- via local transmitting stations 
or through the purchase of individual dishes.  In any case, 
television programming will have to wait until electrical 
power becomes more universally available. 
PEARSON