FOLLOWING THE APEC ROAD MAP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 000829 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECIN ECON MX APECO ETRD SUBJECT: FOLLOWING THE APEC ROAD MAP REF: 06 STATE 14967 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Econoff and Econ Specialist met February 9 with the Director of Multilateral and Regional Negotiations for the Mexican Secretariat of Economy Flavia Farinetti de Wiechers to discuss APEC 2006 initiatives and agenda. Farinetti said that the GOM strongly supports Vietnam's road map. She said that although they understand the strong tie between security and economic prosperity, the Foreign Ministry maintains the belief that APEC is not the proper forum for security issues. At this time, the GOM does not support the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific but Farinetti noted that this could change pending a future review. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) Econoff and Econ Specialist met February 9 with Director of Multilateral and Regional Negotiations for the Mexican Secretariat of Economy Flavia Farinetti de Wiechers to discuss APEC 2006 initiatives and agenda. Farinetti offered to have a follow-up meeting once the new Director General of that division is named to replace Gerardo Traslosheros, who recently left to become Mexico's Representative to the OECD in Paris. Farinetti said the current GOM agenda is consistent with Vietnam's priorities. She mentioned that liberalizing trade and investment, working on the WTO Doha Development Agenda, and strengthening technical cooperation were especially important. She hoped that the APEC community would continue working on the goals they established in Busan and Bogor. ¶3. (SBU) Farinetti said the GOM understands that security and trade are intertwined, and they try to ensure that security matters don't become an obstacle to trade. She stated that the Foreign Ministry (SRE) strongly believes that APEC is not the right forum in which to address security issues unless they are related to other important economic initiatives. Farinetti pointed out that there are no high-ranking officials in the GOM that are able to address national security issues in APEC. However, the Secretariat of Economy and the SRE both participate in an inter-ministerial committee that works on terrorism issues. ¶4. (SBU) Although Farinetti expects further integration of the region by 2010, she believes the GOM is not going to press for a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). She believes only Chile and the Oceania countries are strongly supporting the FTAAP. The GOM is more realistic and doesn't believe the region is prepared for a free trade agreement (FTA). However, she believes if a mid-term review of the road map is positive, the GOM could change its mind. ¶5. (SBU) Another reason the GOM is apprehensive about a FTAAP is that many countries are negotiating bilateral FTAs, including Mexico. Despite the Mexican Executive's mandate to postpone signing of more FTAs, the GOM continues to negotiate a bilateral agreement with Korea. In addition, the GOM has also approached China on a future agreement. Farinetti admitted that the GOM faces strong opposition from Mexican businessmen on both agreements. However, she continues to spend about 50 percent of her time and resources working towards a deal with China. ¶6. (SBU) Farinetti told Econoff and Econ Specialist that her days in Mexico City are numbered. Traslosheros has asked her to work in his office in Paris and she will likely accept and leave her current position in May. She believes the July Mexican elections will have little bearing on the GOM's current APEC initiatives or on many bilateral initiatives. The work of her office is so technical that Farinetti can't imagine any of the candidates changing the GOM's positions or initiatives in APEC. However, she admitted the new Director General has the ability to make some small changes to their agenda. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: Farinetti wasn't extremely forthcoming on the GOM's specific agenda. We believe the Secretariat of Economy still is waiting for the new Director General to be named and to meet with the SRE before finalizing its initiatives. Also, Farinetti seems to prefer working on APEC issues with her Washington interlocutors. Within our bilateral relationship, the U.S. and Mexico are working on a number of the issues mentioned in reftel within the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and other regional fora. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity MEXICO 00000829 002 OF 002 KELLY