Heart of Asia Process

1. Heart of Asia Process Potential Funding Modalities for Confidence Building Measures

2. Background • Initial scoping mission Kabul September 15-19 • Organised by Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/United Nations(UNAMA/UNDP) • Embassies/organisations consulted • Afghanistan China India Iran Kazakhstan • Pakistan Russia Saudi Arabia Turkey • Turkmenistan UAE Australia Canada • Denmark France Germany Japan • Norway Sweden UK USA • EU ADB World Bank UNAMA UNDP • Objective initiate SOM consideration of options • Arrangements in hand for in depth follow up

3. Considerations • Heart of Asia is a political process aimed at promoting cooperation between often widely divergent countries and organizations engaged in the Heart of Asia • Distinction between programmesfor Afghanistan (eg TMAF) and initiatives with Afghanistan • Not alternative development process • Multitude of bilateral and multilateral supported development activities exist focused on Afghanistan and the Region – Importance identification/recognition • Participation of United Nations, internationaland specialised regional organizations and initiatives a major asset • Istanbul Process has identified Lead Countries for each CBM and Afghanistan as permanent Co-Chair with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “Focal Point” • Promotion, Coordination, Resources functions

4. CBM Activities • Overall goal promoting broad cooperation- Governments, private sector, civil society, people-to-people • Objective to stimulate/reinforce dialogue and understanding through focus on progressing selected regional activities • Emphasis of respondents that Istanbul Process needs to add value • Numerous ongoing initiatives can benefit from focus on choke points-often political-that limit implementation

5. CBM Activities • Regional Technical Groups have identified prioritisedactivities for implementation: -Organising consultations/workshops and working groups of officials and technical experts -Establishing joint Action Plans -Exchanges of specialists,trainers and trainees -Organising study tours and Special Events -Commissioning specialised studies and consultants -Sharing information and best practices -Promoting coordination between countries/activities Financial requirements for such activities are limited • Advantage linking with/building on existing programmes

6. Potential Financing Options • Direct Support Arrangements • Financial support by participating and/or Supporter countries • Contributions in kind • Working with relevant regional/ International organizations and mechanisms d) Mixed Modalities • CBM Support Funds • Regional Confidence-Building Trust Fund NB. All options presuppose the establishment of lists of costed, technically sound, priority activities for each CBM

7. I a. Financial Support • Management by CBM Lead Countries • Project proposals submitted initially to Participating and Supporter Countries involved in relevant CBM • Priority to using implementation mechanisms of existing structures • Observance of established criteria (see below) NB. Several Lead Countries already cover costs of activities they host Supporter Countries emphasised importance of Participating Countries engagement in each activity

8. I b. In Kind Support • Participating Countries and/or Supporter Countries and/ or organizations could provide inputs for activities e.g. - Meeting venues - Expert services - Travel Support - Accommodation -Training Opportunities -Technical Assistance - Equipment

9. I c. Role Regional/International Organizations and Mechanisms • Importance of securing the active involvement and technical support of organizations for the Istanbul Process -including RTGs • Availability technical and operational capacities for project delivery • Regional programmes often constrained by lack of political understanding/agreement • Duplication to be avoided and synergies promoted. • New initiatives to be initiated through or in collaboration with existing structures where possible

10. I d. Mixed Modalities • Different modalities can be combined Example: CT- CBM Counter IED workshop in Abu Dhabi Venue: United Arab Emirates Accommodation and logistics: United Kingdom Coordination: Afghanistan Private sector support including Public/Private Partnerships can also be available Example: Chambers of Commerce in TCI-CBM and for Sporting Events and Cultural Exchanges

11. II. CBM Support Funds • New Proposal-Establishment of modest joint funding mechanism linked to each of six CBM areas • Would permit timely access to limited resources required for agreed prioritised CBM activities • Support leadership of respective CBM Lead Countries • Contributions by RTG members could be minimal (from as little as $10-20,000 each) • Rapid availability of funds would encourage and facilitate organisation of CBM activities • Support Funds could aid substantive preparation of RTGs including ensuring the presence of necessary expertise • Burden sharing would also enable hosting events beyond Lead Countries

12. II. CBM Support Funds • Allocation of resources to projects would be subject to agreed criteria and procedures: For example -Central involvement of lead CBM country/ countries - Agreed institutional home for fund management -Reference mechanism for technical clearance -Rapid (electronic) system for validation by participating countries -Clearly identified implementation mechanism • Earmarked contributions for specific activities could be considered

13. Criteria for CBM Project Support • On list of RTG prioritized activities • Not duplicating activities of other organizations • Technically sound • Financially costed • Defined limits • Minimum number of regional participants • Clear responsibility for preparation and coordination • Channeling and disbursal mechanism identified

14. Summary Kabul Consultations • Participating Countries already making available modest support for CBM activities- in particular Lead Countries • Donor countries seeking lists of well defined costed prioritized CBM activities for direct support that evidence Participating Country contributions • Emphasis on CBM activities achieving impact • Strong support for CBMs building on existing activities and collaborating with relevant organisations • Open to consideration of new CBM Support Funds proposal

15. Conclusion • The Heart of Asia is a unique political process by virtue of the range of actors it assembles • Potential to make a significant difference for both Afghanistan and the wider region through strategic interventions • The CBM programmes are means to this broader end • Securing and managing the limited resources required to implement catalytic CBM actions should be simplified to the maximum to avoid distracting from the goals of the process • SOM participants thoughts on these initial suggestions will guide the development of elaborated proposals