UNCLAS CONAKRY 000040
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EB/IFD/ODF - EMILY WAECHTER
TREASURY FOR OFFICE OF AFRICAN NATIONS
E.O. 12598: N/A
TAGS: EFIN ECON PPOL PREL PBTS EAID GV LI SL
SUBJECT: Liberia Partners Forum -- Guinea
REFS: (A) 06 State 201818
(B) 06 Conakry 1711
(C) 12/22/06 Winn-Davis e-mails
¶1. On January 9, Poloff delivered demarche on the Liberia Partners
Forum (Ref A) to Ambassador Mamady Traore, Political Counselor to
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Traore saluted the U.S. efforts to
support rebuilding Liberia but cautioned that any instability in the
region would stymie progress. Traore urged us to look at Liberia
through the lens of the recently re-invigorated Mano River Union
(MRU).
¶2. Traore said the recent MRU conference (Ref B) demonstrated that
Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea are seeking common solutions to
development and rebuilding. He said that Liberia's conflict
severely impacted Guinea - with the long-term effect of hosting
hundreds of thousands of refugees weakening its economic and social
institutions. Traore said the Partners Forum should include pledges
of support for Guinea and Sierra Leone as well.
¶3. Traore said that to his knowledge, Guinea has not received any
direct information or an invitation package for the Forum. He said
that if the government receives an invitation, he is confident that
it would deploy a delegation from Guinea or be represented by the
Guinean embassy in Washington. Poloff promised to follow up with
Traore and provide any additional information we have available.
¶4. Comment. We do not expect Guinea to provide any funding to
Liberia. However, there may be assistance that Guinea and its
neighbors can provide to otherwise support Liberian rebuilding.
Post encourages Forum organizers to include time in the program to
initiate ideas about non-traditional assistance from nations in the
region.
MCDONALD