AMBASSADOR WAYNE'S NOVEMBER 20 MEETING WITH VICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 002597 SIPDIS SIPDIS WHA FOR A/S SHANNON SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON AR SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WAYNE'S NOVEMBER 20 MEETING WITH VICE PRESIDENT DANIEL SCIOLI Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Ambassador met November 20 with Argentine Vice President Daniel Scioli, his assistant Minister Ricardo Lagorio, and his brother Jose Antonio Scioli, Director of the Corporacion Antigua Puerto Madero. In the 45-minute meeting, Scioli said that he is a "friend" of the U.S. who remains disposed to close collaboration. He noted that during his tenure as President of the Senate, the Argentine Congress has enjoyed strong legislative ties to the U.S. Congress. He praised the Ambassador for his active first two weeks in Argentina and the positive impression this has made. Scioli also highlighted the growing importance of U.S. high-tech investment in Argentina as part of the increasingly strong economic and commercial relationship between our two countries. On the AMIA bombing case, the Ambassador expressed the importance of building international support for the findings of Argentina's investigation and underscored that the United States stood ready to support and work with Argentina to that end. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On November 20 Ambassador met with Argentine Vice President Daniel Scioli, his assistant Minister Ricardo Lagorio, and his brother Jose Antonio Scioli, Director of the Corporacion Antigua Puerto Madero. The Vice President praised the Ambassador for the "passion and enthusiasm" he has shown during his busy first two weeks in Argentina and noted that this has resulted in a positive first impression. Scioli shared his personal history of close ties to the U.S., referring to himself as a "friend" of the U.S. who remains disposed to close collaboration. He noted that during his tenure as President of the Senate, the Argentine Congress has enjoyed strong legislative ties to the U.S. Congress. ¶3. (C) Scioli also highlighted the growing importance of U.S. high-tech investment in Argentina as part of the increasingly strong economic and commercial relationship between the two countries. Scioli mentioned that, traditionally, technology and computer engineering has not been a strong field of interest in Argentina, but that it has grown into a important sector with growing employment opportunities. The Ambassador told Scioli that the U.S. administration looked forward to working concretely and productively with Argentina to encourage long-term investment and trade. Scioli conceded that the economic crisis of 2001 had significantly hurt the country and that Argentina is trying improve its institutions to attract more foreign investment. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador praised Scioli's work to strengthen democratic institutions in Argentina. Scioli said that strong stable institutions are essential for attracting more foreign commerce and investment. He said he knows there are a lot of negative perceptions about domestic stability in Argentina, but that by strengthening democratic institutions they can overcome some of these prejudices. He noted that Argentina is currently working to strengthen the Supreme Court as part of these efforts. ¶5. (C) The Ambassador addressed the GoA's ongoing legal efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 1994 AMIA bombing and the need for the U.S. and Argentina to continue working together on this issue. He congratulated the GoA for the courage it has displayed in pursuing the investigation and indictments so far. He said that given his own experience in building coalitions of nations on terrorism issues, it would be important for Argentina to join a coordinated international effort to publicize and build support for the findings of the report and arrest warrants, so that it does not appear that this is a case of Argentina confronting Iran, but rather of many nations supporting the effort to bring terrorists to justice. WAYNE