SPECIAL SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS: DOMINICAN RESPONSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 007604 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2013 TAGS: KSUM PREL ECON SUBJECT: SPECIAL SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS: DOMINICAN RESPONSE REF: A. SECSTATE 348650 ¶B. SECSTATE 318223 Classified By: ACTING DCM MARY B. MARSHALL FOR REASONS 1.5 B/D ¶1. (SBU) On December 30 Acting DCM delivered demarche (ref A) to Secretary of Foreign Relations Frank Guerrero Prats. Prats reiterated that the Government of the Dominican Republic (GODR) stands ready to support U.S. sponsored initiatives. He asked that emboffs contact the Foreign Relations Secretariat Office Director of International Organizations, Ambassador Jesus Maria Hernandez to discuss demarche details. ¶2. (C) Ambassdor Hernandez confirmed that he would accompany Foreign Minister Prats to the summit in Mexico. He told poloff that the Dominican Republic agrees with the U.S. proposed texts on transparency, anti-corruption and terrorism. However, he was hesitant to offer support for setting specific dates for completion of actions to implement the Quebec mandates (ref A),due to what he termed as "internal bureaucratic difficulties." Ambassador Hernandez asked whether the Venezuelan proposal to change language in the Declaration of Margarita Island would be revisited (ref B) and also expressed interest in proposed language about poverty reduction. He also questioned why there is no proposed declaration regarding the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. Ambassador Hernandez did not elaborate futher on these topics. HERTELL