WHY AN URIBE/TOLEDO MEETING WITH PRESIDENT BUSH IS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003926 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA P/DAS SHAPIRO E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2015 TAGS: PREL ETRD PGOV PE CO SUBJECT: WHY AN URIBE/TOLEDO MEETING WITH PRESIDENT BUSH IS IN OUR INTEREST REF: A. LIMA 3888 ¶B. BOGOTA 8415 Classified By: Political Counselor Alexander Margulies. Reason: 1.4(d ). ¶1. (C) We understand that Peruvian Ambassador Ferrero soon will call on PDAS Shapiro and U/S Burns to request an October meeting between Presidents Toledo, Uribe and Bush. According to Foreign Minister Maurtua, the two Andean leaders decided during their September 5 consultations in Bogota (reftels) to visit Washington together on October 11 or 12 (Toledo will be en route to a state visit to Madrid). Toledo wants to emphasize Peru's desire to close Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the U.S. in October. While the proof of the pudding will be in the tasting, Toledo has instructed his negotiating team to show flexibility toward this end. The appointment of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski as Prime Minister reinforces the GOP's determination; PPK passionately believes that Peru's complementary growth, development and poverty reduction strategies must be based on free trade, market economics and private investment. ¶2. (C) Toledo is worried that stretching the FTA negotiations past October will cause a collision with Peru's 2006 electoral calendar; an agreement now supported by all major parties could become politicized. Toledo is not/not seeking to break negotiating impasses at the Presidential level. Rather, he is seeking a highly visible sign of U.S. commitment to refute Peru's FTA skeptics, who argue that our commitments in the Middle East and the close CAFTA vote have put the Andean region on the back burner. ¶3. (C) Toledo already plans to visit Washington next week, in-between attendance at the UNGA in New York, where he will meet with USTR Portman and with some members of Congress. With the Congress, he will push for ACI funding for counternarcotics activities in Peru and build support for eventual ratification of an FTA. ¶4. (C) An Uribe/Toledo meeting with POTUS would also provide us with opportunities to advance significant USG interests in the region: -- Encourage increased counterterrorism and counternarcotics cooperation between Colombia and Peru. Peru already is far ahead of other countries in the region in recognizing the threat to Andean security posed by the FARC and responding to this through joint military and intelligence programs with the GOC. It recently signed off on a CNIES agreement, which will lead to Peruvian intelligence input for Colombian and Brazilian air interdiction programs. -- Develop common approaches to countering the regional threat posed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Uribe and Toledo share our concerns regarding Chavez's attempts to undermine democracy and reassert state control over the economy in the Andean region. Their cooperation will be essential in any effort to identify, limit and roll-back Chavez's influence and activities. -- Highlight the success of Peru's pro-market policies and alignment with the U.S. The GOP is among the minority of countries on track to fulfill its Millennium Development goals. It reduced its extreme poverty rate from 27 to 24 percent last year and the just-released UN development index shows that Peru improved from 0.752 (85th out of 159 countries) to 0.762 (79th) on that index. The newly-released Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom also saw Peru jump from 2.83 to 2.76 on that scale, an improvement for the third year in a row. -- Commend Peru's responsible approach towards democratic transitions. Toledo has named a technocrat who is trusted by most of the opposition as Prime Minister. Both the President and PPK have described the latter's marching orders as "to avoid handing over any messes or time bombs to the next government." STRUBLE