US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA1250

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001250 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, EAID, EFIN, PREL, AF, CA, Afghanistan 
SUBJECT: CANADA'S RESPONSE TO LETTER FROM UNDER SECRETARIES 
LARSON AND TAYLOR ON FILLING THE AFGHAN GOVERNMENT'S 
FINANCING GAP 
 
REF: A. OTTAWA 1168 
 
     B. STATE 105217 
 
 1. Hau Sing Tse, Vice-President of Canada's International 
Development Agency has responded on behalf of the GOC to the 
letter conveyed in Ref b.  Following is the faxed text of the 
letter. 
 
2.  Begin text 
 
2003-05-02 
 
 
Mr. John B. Taylor 
Under Secretary of Treasury 
for International Affairs 
U.S. Department of the Treasury 
 
Mr. Allan Larson 
Under Secretary of State for Economic, 
Business and Agricultural Affairs 
U.S. Department of State 
 
 
 
Dear Sirs: 
 
Thank you for your letter of 25 April regarding the 
international community's support for Afghanistan's 
reconstruction.  We too were encouraged by the show of 
support through the participation of so many bilateral donors 
and International organizations representated at the 
Afghanistan High-Level Strategic Forum in Brussels. 
 
In reference to Finance Minister Ghani's request for 
predictability of funding, Canada responded by pledging 
financial support for the operating and development budgets 
beyond this solar year.  As you know, Canada pledged CDN $250 
million in new aid to Afghanistan for the next two years.  We 
have also heeded the Afghanistan Transitional Authoritiy's 
request that funding be directed to their priorities.  This 
is a fundamental principle of CIDA's Interim Assistance Plan 
for Afghanistan as approved by the Minister for International 
Cooperation, the Honourable Susan Whelan. 
 
In this respect, our program will support three areas from 
the National Development Framework (NDF) and Budget:  rural 
livelihoods and social protection; natural resources 
management, with an emphasis on agreculture; and security and 
the rule of law, and we will continue to make significant 
contributions to the operating budget.  We informed Afghan 
representatives in Brussels that CDN $23.5 million would be 
provided for the operating budget for the current year 
through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). 
That contribution has already been forwarded to the ARTF. 
 
CIDA is continuing its dialogue with the Afghan Aid 
Coordination Authority and with line ministries to determine 
specific areas for program and project support within the 
three NDF programs.  We will consider an additional 
contribution to this year's operating budget as part of the 
deliberations with our Minister, and these deliberations will 
also take into account the unallocated portion of our pledge. 
 
In closing I would like to highlight the excellent 
communication between our CIDA officials and your 
representatives in the United States Embassy here in Ottawa. 
I look forward to the continuation of our close cooperation 
in assisting in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. 
 
Yours Sincerely, 
 
Hau Sing Tse 
Vice-President Asia Branch 
 
cc:  Jonathan Fried, Senior Deputy Minister, Department of 
Finance 
     David Mulroney, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia-Pacific, 
DFAIT 
 
End text 
 
3.  As noted in Ref A, CIDA staff expect Minister Whelan to 
make final decisions ("deliberations with our Minister") on 
allocation of aid to Afghanistan in June. 
CELLUCCI