CABEI Request for Meeting with Secretary Snow

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000467

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/EPSC, EB/TPP, INR/B AND DRL/IL
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAM
TREASURY FOR DDOUGLASS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON PGOV HO
SUBJECT: CABEI Request for Meeting with Secretary Snow


1. This is an action request; please see para 3.


2. On February 25, Post received the following letter from
the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI),
requesting a meeting between CABEI Executive President Harry
Brautigam and Secretary of Treasury Snow on the margins of
the upcoming Inter American Development Bank Board of
Governors meeting, on April 10-12 in Okinawa, Japan. Text
of the letter follows in para 4. Post will fax original of
the letter to WHA/CEN.


3. Action requested: Post requests that Department pass the
request to appropriate offices in the Department of Treasury
and advise on the response to be delivered to CABEI.


4. Begin text:

February 15, 2005

Your Excellency:

I have the honor of addressing Your Excellency on occasion
of the upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors of the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),due to take place on
April 10-12 in Okinawa, Japan.

Central AMERICA is now an emerging market with a prosperous
outlook. Regional GDP reached $72.0 billion in 2004 with
stable macroeconomic indicators and positive expectations of
the ratification of a Free Trade Agreement with the United
States of AMERICA later this year. A key source of
multilateral funding to this region has come from the
Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI),with
total assets of $3.5 billion, a capital base of $1.3 billion
and yearly disbursements of $1.1 billion.

CABEI has undergone important achievements during 2004 which
I would like to share with you and explore areas for mutual
collaboration to support our founding member countries
achieve the Millennium Development Goals established by the
United Nations in 2000. For this purpose we kindly ask you
for an appointment with the Executive President of CABEI,
Mr. Harry E. Brautigam and myself, during your stay in
Okinawa at the most convenient time and date for your
agenda.

Should you need additional information, please feel free to
contact me, at amb@bcie.org, telephone number (504) 240-2264
and fax (504) 240-2113.

Sincerely,

/s/

Alfonso Martnez-Bordi
Head of the Institutional Relations Department

His Excellency
The Honorable
John W. Snow
Secretary of Treasury

SIPDIS
United States

End text

Palmer