MAURITIAN PRIME MINISTER ON BILATERAL RELATIONS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT LOUIS 000598

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER VE GT MP
SUBJECT: MAURITIAN PRIME MINISTER ON BILATERAL RELATIONS,
ANTI-TERRORISM COOPERATION, VENEZUELA, AND CUBA

REF: A. PORT LOUIS 595

B. PORT LOUIS 587

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Stephen Schwartz.
Reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) Summary: Mauritian Prime Minister told Charge October
6 that he has no particular problem with U.S. foreign policy,
despite comments to the contrary broadcast on Mauritian
radio. Ramgoolam emphasized that he has tried hard to
maintain consistent principles in foreign affairs and
denounced any other government which has advanced double
standards. Charge urged Ramgoolam to uphold Mauritius'
support for Guatemala's bid for the UNSC, despite the PM's
recent meeting with Venezuelan President Chavez. Charge also
asked for Mauritian support for international efforts to
prevent North Korea from testing a nuclear weapon. Ramgoolam
expressed a personal interest in developing greater bilateral
anti-terrorism cooperation. Charge noted that the new U.S.
Ambassador to Mauritius would arrive on October 20, Ramgoolam
said he is ready to announce his choice as Mauritius'
Ambassador to the United States. End summary.


2. (C) In an effort to address and defuse U.S. concerns about
a critical statement he had made on U.S. foreign policy
(excerpt at para 8),Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam
opened a meeting with Charge d'Affaires a.i. October 6 by
announcing tongue in cheek that he had a "new friend,
President Chavez." Ramgoolam said that in their bilat on the
margins of the UN General Assembly, Chavez offered him oil in
exchange for Mauritian support for Venezuela's UN Security
Council bid. (Ref B) Ramgoolam said he found Chavez smart
and very engaging but that Chavez's remarks about President
Bush were wrong. Charge took the opportunity to note the
interview Ramgoolam gave to a Mauritian media outlet
September 22 and ask Ramgoolam whether he shared Chavez's
cynicism about the U.S. If so, Charge offered to help
clarify or resolve any divergence in an otherwise strong
bilateral relationship.


3. (C) Ramgoolam said he has no particular problem with U.S.
foreign policy but opposes double standards in everyone's
foreign policies. He spent much of the 45 minute meeting
citing examples of how he'd been consistent while others were
inconsistent. He recounted how he had denounced Nigeria,
Burma, and Fiji at the UN in the mid-1990s and how he'd
differed with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair when the latter
pleaded in the Commonwealth for Pakistan not to be expelled
after its last coup d'etat as an exception to Commonwealth
rules. Ramgoolam said that he thought the U.S. invasion of
Iraq had increased the global threat from terrorism and
questioned why some countries won't deal with Hamas even
though it was elected democratically. Charge explained that
the USG applauded the conduct of the Palestinian elections
but, along with the EU, Russia, and UN, would not deal
directly with Hamas until it recognizes Israel's right to
exist, renounces terrorism, and accepts prior agreements of
the Palestinian Authority including the Road Map.


4. (C) Charge informed Ramgoolam that Ambassador Cesar
Cabrera would be arriving in Mauritius on October 20 and was
tentatively scheduled to present credentials on October 26.
The Embassy had requested a call on the PM for later that
day. Ramgoolam said he looked forward to meeting Ambassador
Cabrera and said he would announce his choice for Ambassador
to the U.S. as soon as ForMin Dulloo returned to Mauritius.
Charge also noted two good meetings held recently between USG
officials and Secretary for Home Affairs Raj Mudhoo which
would likely lead to greater cooperation in the Global War on
Terror. Ramgoolam said he was pleased by this development on
an issue of great concern to him. He offered to meet USG
officials on this matter in the near future. Charge noted
that Mauritius and the U.S. had signed a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement recently that that this was a very
positive development. Charge encouraged Ramgoolam to uphold
Mauritius' pledge of support for Guatemala's bid for a seat
on the UN Security Council, despite his newfound friendship
with President Chavez (Ref A).


5. (C) ForMin Dulloo and Foreign Secretary Neewoor had
recently told Charge that Ramgoolam's frustration with the
USG probably stemmed from the unwillingness of the U.S.
Congress to grant Mauritius access to the Third Country
Fabric provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Charge raised the issue with Ramgoolam, questioning the

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economic benefit of such access since most of the large
producers had already acquired their own or had access to
local spinning capacity and thus no longer needed to use
Third Country Fabric. Ramgoolam, echoing Dulloo, said the
biggest benefit of the benefit would be psychological and
political since Mauritius feels itself under siege
economically with the loss of key trade preferences on sugar
and textiles.


6. (C) Ramgoolam, who smoked a cigar throughout the meeting,
shared an experience in Cuba that revealed the country's
pervasive and rigid Communist mindset. Upon arrival in Cuba
for the Non-Aligned Movement summit in September, Cuban
officials were under strict instructions to make heads of
government and state wait at the airport until a parade in
their honor could be arranged to properly welcome them to the
country. Ramgoolam said that after cooling his heels for an
hour he told his minder that he was going to the hotel. The
minder insisted he wait since "President Castro had given the
order." Ramgoolam left anyway. He said Madagascar's
President Ravalomanana also left, while leaders from Lesotho
and Mozambique waited up to four hours for their parades.


7. (C) Charge shared with Ramgoolam USG concerns about North
Korea's threat to test a nuclear weapon, noting that we would
not accept a nuclear North Korea and were fully engaged in
diplomatic efforts to prevent such a development. The U.S.
sought Mauritian support for a Presidential Statement on the
issue and for any global effort to persuade North Korea to
dissuade North Korea from conducting a nuclear test.


8. (U) Begin text of question and answer.


Q. You have had the opportunity to meet Hugo Chavez
(President of Venezuela) in Cuba. On the United Nations
platform on Wednesday, he called George W. Bush a devil,.
What is your reaction?


A. Hugo Chavez, whom I met for the first time in Cuba, is a
very popular person in his country. He has extraordinary
charisma and a will to fight poverty. We got on very well.
In fact, our tete-a-tete lasted an hour. The United Nations
constitutes a platform where freedom of expression is
important. I think that we have to try to understand why
President Chavez has made such remarks. However, it is not
the ideal platform to make personal attacks. We are all
supposed to use the same language, international law. But
note what happened in Diego Garcia and the Middle East. We
say that we want to promote democracy. Let,s take a look at
U.S. policy. To promote democracy in Iraq the Americans have
invaded the country. When the Hamas party has been
democratically elected in Palestine, it has not been
recognized. It is this double language, this double
standard, which forces people to become cynical and to make
attacks.

End text of question and answer.


9. (C) Comment: Ramgoolam bent over backwards to defuse any
potential problem with the USG over his comments to the
press. Throughout the 45 minute meeting he repeatedly
returned to this theme of how consistent he has been and how
he has challenged others. The meeting covered a lot of
ground and served to remind Ramgoolam that we are paying
attention and that we care about the bilateral relationship.
He got the message and let us know in his own way that he too
cares about the relationship. End comment.


10. (U) Ramgoolam's Chief of Staff Kailash Ruhee and Poloff
served as notetakers.
Schwartz