Omar Samad says he is waiting until the "water settles" before scheduling a meeting on the topic with officials at Foreign Affairs and CIDA. However, in a highly unusual move, the ambassador went public last week with his concern that the Martin government still hasn't specified which countries, if any, will see adjustments to their share of Canadian development assistance.

"On the one hand, we are very touched by the disaster itself and the casualties around the world and the destruction that it brought to several countries. And the response to the tsunami has been positive," says the former television producer, political commentator and, prior to his arrival in September, spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"On the other, a post-conflict country like Afghanistan that is in the process of rebuilding itself obviously doesn't want to receive a cut in what is pledged."

He is urging the government to strike a balance with its foreign aid, between emergency relief and long-term bilateral commitments. He highlights the importance of countries in transition, including Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Rwanda, which have moved out of brutal wars in recent years.

"Each country will make its own case and assessment of needs, but it is up to the donor to make sure you don't give aid toward one specific objective at the expense of others. And if you do cut it, does it make sense or is it taking away from others in the world?" he reasons.

Afghanistan has a lot at stake. It is the largest bilateral recipient country of Canadian aid, totalling about $616.5 million between 2001 and 2009. Mr. Samad says only about half of that money has been allocated so far. This year alone, the international development agency has earmarked $100 million for development projects and as part of the Afghan government's operating budget. By comparison, the value of CIDA's local initiative program in Bosnia, another post-conflict nation, is valued at $13 million.

A spokesperson for Finance Minister Ralph Goodale says that $265 million of the government's tsunami commitment will come from the budgetary surplus, valued at around $9 billion. This portion of the money will be spent right away in order to meet immediate needs in the region.

In addition, CIDA will pony up $160 million over the next four years, says John Embury. Some of this funding will fall within this year's fiscal framework, he says. In subsequent years, the money will come from the federal government's promised 8 per cent annual boost to the official development assistance envelope, he says.

"We don't think it'll have any impact on existing CIDA projects because of their increasing ramp up, and they haven't spent their full allocation yet this year," he says.

A CIDA spokesperson confirmed last week that in light of the tsunami pledge, the agency would re-evalute bilateral programs. "All of the countries that received funding for this disaster are all receiving funding anyway. CIDA will have to re-evaluate the funding under those programs," according to the spokesperson.

Ethiopian Ambassador Berhanu Dibaba says he is confident that his country's aid program, another large one by CIDA standards, will be untouched. "We are not aware of anything [right] now. I don't think things will affect us," he says. "The Canadian government has a plan; it's a continuing program. Hopefully they keep on the program in Ethiopia."

Mr. Samad stresses Kabul is relying on Canadian funds to get the country back on its feet following over two decades of civil conflict. He says Afghanistan is a prime candidate for foreign aid because it is both extremely poor and recovering from a conflict situation.

"The donor community is facing a problem at this point whether to increase their foreign aid budgets, or keep it at the same level but shrink some of the programs in order [to account] for the new funding. And I think it's a question that needs to be answered fairly soon by the major donors," says Mr. Samad.

Mr. Samad acknowledges that Afghanistan has encountered its own share of the world's attention ­ and generosity ­ following September 11 and the fall of the Taliban. In the past few years, two major funding conferences in Tokyo and Berlin produced over $12 billion in multiyear financial pledges. The United States alone has promised $4.5 billion this year.

But Mr. Samad says for largely political reasons his government is confident the United States will not renege on money destined for Afghanistan. (The U.S. has become the largest single donor of tsunami aid, pledging a whopping $700 million.)

"Afghanistan is a very important strategic country because of the war on terror. We think the U.S. commitment will stay in the country or become greater. We don't think it will be taken away," he says.

"For almost 20 years Afghanistan was engulfed in war and Canadian aid was only about an annual $10 million ­ almost all for humanitarian objectives. But once the war ended, Canadian aid increased almost 1,000 per cent.

"At a certain point we have to see how much is needed to assist the countries affected by the tsunami. What is left? It will be the decision of the organizations [and governments] that have the money to decide what to do with the rest of it," he says.

In the immediate wake of the tsunami, Mr. Samad says Afghans donated blood, food such as dried fruit, and that the country deployed two medical teams and even medicine, despite shortages within their own country.

Mr. Samad remains confident Canada will not dip into his country's funding pot, but says he will be looking for a guarantee from officials in the very near future. His fears are not without basis. All over the developed world aid experts have warned governments that the huge amounts they are pledging to South Asia must come from new money, not be siphoned off existing programs.

There may also be a silver lining for the rest of the developing world. The ambassador notes that the tsunami-aid windfall could be spread around the world if it's found that the 12 Asian and African nations affected by the wave can't put the money to better use.