LAUNCHING PHASE II OF THE DIGITAL FREEDOM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 004848

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR WHA/AND, WHA/EPSC, EB/CIP - TCARNEGIE/WAYALA
COMMERCE FOR 4331/MAC/WH/MCAMERON
COMMERCE FOR OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY/KFERGUESON
USTR FOR KSCHAGRIN/JMCHALE
FCC INTERNATIONAL BUREAU FOR ETALAGA
AID FOR BRENDA FISHER/NOREEN JANUS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECPS ETRD EINV ECON PE
SUBJECT: LAUNCHING PHASE II OF THE DIGITAL FREEDOM
INITIATIVE

REF: LIMA 3115


1. (SBU) Summary. The Ambassador and Peruvian Minister of
Production David Lemor signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) on November 8 to launch Phase II of the Digital
Freedom Initiative (DFI) as well as underscore the GOP's
renewed interest in the program. Both the Minister and the
Ambassador pledged to improve information sharing and
cooperation among the two governments and the private
sector. Phase II will further promote economic development
through the dissemination of information and communications
technology to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The MOU
established a Working Group of nine officials - two from the
USG, two from the GOP, and five from the private sector.
The Working Group, which includes the General Managers of
Intel, Cisco, Motorola, Voxiva and Hewlett Packard, will
meet December 7 to discuss next steps and how to best
implement future DFI programs in Peru. The Working Group
will also brief the American and Lima Chambers of Commerce
to obtain additional private sector support. End Summary.

Launching DFI Phase II
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2. (U) Although Peru became a participant in the Digital
Freedom Initiative in 2003, the Peruvian Government did not
take an active role in implementation of the DFI (reftel).
Only recently has the GOP focused on this program, due in
large part to the encouragement of U.S. officials during
APEC conferences in 2005. During the past five months, we
have met with officials from the Ministry of Production, the
GOP's newly-appointed lead agency for DFI issues, to support
the GOP's renewed interest in promoting economic growth
through the transfer to and use of information and
communication technology (ICT) by entrepreneurs and small
businesses. While GOP agencies discussed the possibility of
working with the Embassy and the private sector to promote
the DFI, the Ministry of Production requested that the two
governments sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to make
information sharing and cooperation more official.


3. (U) Pleased with the GOP's renewed interest in the DFI,
we moved forward with preparations for the MOU. On November
8, Ambassador Struble and Minister of Production David Lemor
signed the MOU, which not only established a framework for
collaboration between the USG and the GOP but also launched
Phase II of the DFI. The MOU established a DFI Working
Group, to consist of nine persons, which will meet monthly
to discuss the current state of play of the DFI and plan
future programs and their implementation. (Note: We sent
the original documents to L/T. Scanned copies have been
sent to WHA/AND and EB/CIP for their records. End Note.)

Next Steps
--------------


4. (SBU) We met with Karin Talavara, advisor to the Vice
Minister of Industry, and several other Ministry of
Production officials on November 9 to discuss implementation
of the MOU. During the meeting, we established the DFI
Working Group - members include two Embassy officials, Vice
Minister of Industry Antonio Castillo, Vice Minister of
Communications Juan Pacheco, and the Peruvian General
Managers of Cisco, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Voxiva and
Motorola. The private sector participants were selected
using three criteria: the companies are members of the DFI
Business Roundable; the companies have offices in Peru; and
the companies are currently working on DFI-related projects
in Peru. The DFI Working Group will meet on December 7 to
determine next steps, establish a list of incentives for
potential stakeholders, and discuss ongoing and future
projects.


5. (SBU) The Working Group intends to establish several
smaller sub-groups that will focus on issues including
Software, Telecommunications, Hardware, E-Commerce/E-
Government, and Regulations. We plan on inviting key GOP
officials from Osiptel (the Peruvian Telecommunications
Regulator) and the E-Government program, as well as private
sector representatives and Department of Commerce E-Business
fellows, to work more closely on these issues. Several GOP
agencies, including Osiptel and the Ministry of Transport
and Communications recently received Trade and Development
Agency (TDA) grants for telecommunications activities and
regulation; by inviting these organizations to participate
in the DFI, they will be able to promote DFI
telecommunications activities within the scope of the TDA
grants.


6. (SBU) After the December 7 meeting, the DFI Working Group
will meet with the American Chamber of Commerce and the Lima
Chamber of Commerce to ascertain interest on the part of
American or Peruvian companies to participate in the DFI and
DFI-related activities throughout Peru. The Working Group,
in the next few months, will also establish a local DFI
webpage, to be managed by Voxiva, with links to activities
planned by each of the sub-groups. Local and American
companies interested in participating in the DFI could use
the webpage as a tool to determine their level of
involvement.

Comment
--------------


7. (SBU) The signing of the MOU has injected new life into
the DFI program in Peru - a program that previously had
minimal GOP interest. The Ministry of Production, working
with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and other
government stakeholders, appears not only ready but able to
implement DFI programs, as witnessed by their desire to
discuss the immediate implementation of the MOU. During the
signing ceremony, several U.S. companies, including
Microsoft and Nextel, approached us to inquire about the
possibility of participating in future DFI programs as part
of their social corporate responsibility programs in Peru.
We believe that by working with the GOP and the private
sector, we can not only better disseminate information and
communications technology to local entrepreneurs and small
businesses but also teach them how to use the technology to
promote economic development.

STRUBLE