JAMAICA HOSTS PETROCARIBE SUMMIT IN MONTEGO BAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 002083 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT),EB/ESC/IEC SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/7/15 TAGS: EPET ENRG ECON PREL JM SUBJECT: JAMAICA HOSTS PETROCARIBE SUMMIT IN MONTEGO BAY REF: A. KINGSTON 2082 ¶B. POWELL/BENT 9/7 FAX ¶C. KINGSTON 02026 ¶D. POWELL/NICHOLS 9/7 E-MAIL Classified By: CDA Thomas C. Tighe. Reasons 1.5(b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) On September 6, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson hosted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Cuban President Fidel Castro, and representatives of CARICOM states, the Dominican Republic, and Monserrat, to conclude the PetroCaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement. Domestically, the summit was overshadowed by the opposition Jamaica Labor Party's (JLP) island-wide protest against the Patterson Administration in response to rising food- and utility prices, and bus fares, an event at least in part calculated to embarrass the Prime Minister in front of his regional guests. In addressing Summit attendees, Patterson specifically praised Simon Bolivar, Chavez and his "Bolivarian vision", and Castro's "record for humanitarian generosity" despite 50 years of opposition from the USG. He emphasized that the benefits offered by PetroCaribe came with no strings attached, and that they involved concessionary loans rather than sub-market oil pricing by Venezuela. GOJ contacts began returning to Kingston from the PetroCaribe Summit on September 7; we are awaiting replies to our requests for read-outs and will report further on the substance and dynamics of the event. End summary. -------------- PetroCaribe Summit -------------- ¶2. (U) On September 6, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson hosted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Cuban President Fidel Castro, and representatives of CARICOM states, the Dominican Republic, and Monserrat. Domestically, the summit was overshadowed by the opposition Jamaica Labor Party's (JLP) island-wide "day of protest" against the Patterson Administration for rising food-, utility- and bus fare prices, and event at least in part calculated to embarrass the Prime Minister in front of his regional guests (Ref A). GOJ contacts began returning to Kingston from the PetroCaribe Summit on September 7; we are awaiting replies to requests for read-outs and will report further on the substance and dynamics of the event. -------------- Patterson Welcomes His Guests -------------- ¶3. (U) In his opening address to the visiting delegations (text of remarks faxed to WHA/CAR, per Ref B),Patterson gave a verbal nod to Simon Bolivar, whose 190-year old, 1815 "Letter from Jamaica" served nominally as commemorative backdrop to the PetroCaribe Summit. He described the countries represented at the Summit as states "...whose people share a common history of colonial conquest..." The PM also noted that the PetroCaribe Agreement "will serve to strengthen our ties with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and two of our close neighbors in the wider Caribbean Basin, Cuba and the Dominican Republic." Continuing, Patterson welcomed Chavez, "...whose own commitment to regionalism brings added meaning to the Bolivarian vision '...to put into use all the resources for public prosperity; to improve, educate and perfect the New World.'" He mentioned rising global demand for oil led by China and other Asian countries, and, after noting the recent rise in oil prices beyond the USD 70 per barrel mark, expressed "profound sympathy" to those in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. According to Patterson, "The PetroCaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement which replaces, with Venezuela, the San Jose Accord and now the Caracas Energy Agreement of 2001, will further deepen and strengthen the bonds of friendship and the process of collaboration between the signatory countries." -------------- PetroCaribe's Benefits, As Jamaica Sees Them -------------- ¶4. (U) As he has done on several occasions since Chavez visited in August to sign a bilateral GOJ/GOV accord under PetroCaribe (Ref C),Patterson emphasized that Jamaica will continue to purchase Venezuelan oil at the prevailing world price, paying only a small amount up front in cash while "...the rest of the payment is convertible by our Governments as a concessionary loan at one percent over 25 years." Patterson described further benefits of the Agreement as: 1) averting a severe reduction of foreign exchange reserves, thereby easing the pressure for currency devaluation; 2) the accumulation of loan funds at concessionary rates which cannot be secured either from the International Lending Agencies or Capital Markets and without any conditionalities attached; and 3) the ability to repay portions of the loan by way of goods and services, including sugar, bananas and rice, which have suffered from adverse rulings of the WTO. -------------- In Praise of Fidel -------------- ¶5. (U) Patterson also lauded Castro, saying: "The (PetroCaribe) program, which will permit Cuba with its advanced capability in the Health Sector to provide special treatment to needy patients in Jamaica serves as a trailblazer. Allow me to commend President Fidel Castro, whose record for humanitarian generosity has never diminished despite whatever daunting challenges his government and people have faced over the past five decades." Concluding his remarks, Patterson said, "In a globalized world in which dominant economic and political blocs hold sway we must be prepared to chart our own course and harness the skills of our people to strengthen our economies..." (Note: Pol/Econ Chief is scheduled to meet with the Health Ministry Permanent Secretary on September 8 and will ask for specifics about the SIPDIS Cuban eye care program for indigent Jamaicans. End note.) -------------- Delegations -------------- ¶6. (U) The GOJ provided the following, incomplete information on the Heads of Government/State/Delegation represented in Montego Bay: Jamaica - PM P.J. Patterson; Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez; Cuba - President Fidel Castro; Guyana, PM Samuel Hinds; Grenada - PM Keith Mitchell; Monserratt - Chief Minister John Osborne; as well as unspecified heads of delegation from: Barbados, Dominica, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Dominican Republic. According to the media reports, the Barbadian, Bahamian, and Trinidadian representatives attended as observers. -------------- A Touch of Light Comedy -------------- ¶7. (C) As the Summit was unfolding, an Embassy Kingston consular officer had a series of inadvertent run-ins with the Cuban delegation to the PetroCaribe Summit. Conoff arrived by commercial air at Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport, where her husband, in Montego Bay on a long-planned vacation with visiting Amcit friends, met her in their POV. The two were mistakenly directed by GOJ security personnel (who apparently misread the diplomatic license plates on their vehicle) into the official convoy proceeding onto the tarmac to welcome the aircraft carrying Castro's arriving delegation. When Cuban and Jamaican officials recognized the error, conoff and her husband were quickly removed from the procession and asked to depart the airport. They proceeded to their resort villa (which they had reserved in May), whereupon they learned that Castro and his delegation were occupying the villa next door. Their license plates again provoked surprised consternation, then baleful looks from Cuban security officials, whereupon conoff and her party were quickly moved to a far side of the resort by resort staff who were clearly acting at the behest of the Cubans. Before they moved, however, a cell phone from conoff's party went missing for a few hours, and a request to the hotel desk to fix a non-functioning computer in their original villa quickly brought seven "technicians" to the suite who examined the computer intently but were unable to restore internet service. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Patterson, never shy about publicly reiterating his commitment to maintaining Jamaica's "principled stance" against U.S. policy in Iraq, Haiti, and at the UN, felt no need to stand on principle or to say or do anything to make his two prominent, democratically-challenged guests uncomfortable. Drawing on Department guidance prior to the Summit, Charge and Pol/Econ Chief raised (with senior officials at the MFA and Commerce Ministry, and with a close personal friend and unofficial advisor to Patterson) USG concerns about Chavez's behavior regionally and at home, and the unlikely notion that the GOV would offer such seemingly favorable terms with no strings attached. The message clearly reached the Prime Minister, who subsequently and publicly rebutted the notion of hidden "conditionalities" on at least three occasions. We will report further on the substance of the Summit once we are able to discuss the proceedings with official contacts streaming back to the capital from Montego Bay. TIGHE