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 programmes for 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, international and 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 prioritised activities 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 I.Direct Support Arrangements a)Financial support by participating and/or Supporter countries b)Contributions in kind c)Working with relevant regional/ International organizations and mechanisms d) Mixed Modalities II.CBM Support Funds III.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