Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06SANTIAGO257
2006-02-06 10:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Santiago
Cable title:  

CHILE: APEC PRIORITIES FOR 2006

Tags:  APECO KFLU SENV ETRD CI 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTIAGO 000257 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2016
TAGS: APECO KFLU SENV ETRD CI
SUBJECT: CHILE: APEC PRIORITIES FOR 2006

REF: A. SECSTATE 14967


B. SANTIAGO 0094

C. 2005 SANTIAGO 02393

D. WARD/ANDERSON E-MAIL

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Emi Lynn Yamauchi. Reasons: 1.4
(b and d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTIAGO 000257

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2016
TAGS: APECO KFLU SENV ETRD CI
SUBJECT: CHILE: APEC PRIORITIES FOR 2006

REF: A. SECSTATE 14967


B. SANTIAGO 0094

C. 2005 SANTIAGO 02393

D. WARD/ANDERSON E-MAIL

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Emi Lynn Yamauchi. Reasons: 1.4
(b and d).


1. (C) Summary: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will
not have an APEC Senior Official until after the March 11
inauguration of incoming President Michelle Bachelet (ref B).
The acting APEC Senior Official and his technical team told
econoffs February 2 that Chile would like to work closely
with the U.S. this year to further a number of mutual
interests on the APEC agenda -- including avian flu
preparations, corporate governance and anti-corruption. As
an aside, the Chileans expressed concern about Vietnam's
ability to advance APEC's substantive agenda. Chile plans to
host a high-level APEC conference on sustainable development
in July and would welcome U.S. participation. End Summary.

--------------
APEC in the Bachelet Administration
--------------


2. (U) EconOffs met with Acting APEC Senior Official German
King and Graciela Fernandez, Deputy Director of the MFA's
APEC office. King noted he would be Chile's acting APEC
Senior Official until the new administration, which enters
office on March 11, filled the position with a political
appointment. King said that the Chilean delegation to the
February 20th Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) was still
undecided.


3. (SBU) King said he expected no change in Chile's active
participation in APEC under the new Bachelet administration.
Plans called for the MFA's current APEC technical team to
remain in place. While Bachelet has announced she will place
an emphasis on building closer ties with Chile's neighbors,
King confirmed that Chile's policy of expanding ties with
Asia were long-term and strategic.

--------------
Continued Cooperation on Avian Flu
--------------


4. (U) EconOffs raised ongoing cooperation with the Chilean
Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Plant and Animal Health
Service (ref C),and King responded Chile was particularly
pleased with the 2005 APEC technical training session held in

San Francisco. He said Chile would continue to share
"lessons learned" from its own 2002 avian flu outbreak and
successful eradication of the virus. Chile expected avian
flu to remain a top agenda item for all APEC countries. He
suggested three areas of particular interest:

-- Studying the economic effects of the current avian flu
outbreak on small and medium-sized agricultural producers.
Chile sees these countries as most vulnerable to significant
economic damage during an outbreak and other APEC members
should think of ways to assist this group.

-- Ensuring adequate global supplies of appropriate
medication to alleviate human suffering.

-- Understanding fully the migratory pattern of the disease.
King believes more data is needed to track transmission.


5. (U) King and Fernandez expressed particular interest in
receiving updated information from the APEC Health Task Force
and mentioned Chile's support for an April 2006 APEC meeting
of Health and Agriculture Ministers to discuss the topic
further.

-------------- --------------
Seeking U.S. Partnership on the Corruption Agenda
-------------- --------------


6. (U) Fernandez was extremely pleased with Chile's
cooperation with INL Special Advisor David Luna on corruption
issues, saying the U.S. had always been a leader and ally on
this topic. Chile is currently the Vice President of the
APEC working group examining corruption issues, and Fernandez
believes 2006 will be a critical year for this initiative.
The working group has not been active in the past, and Chile
plans to push APEC to reinvigorate discussions on fighting
corruption. Fernandez said either the APEC working group
advances the issue this year or it will likely end its
efforts.


SANTIAGO 00000257 002 OF 002



7. (U) Fernandez and King mentioned Chile's support for the
adoption of general anti-corruption principles for all APEC
members. They suggested using the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development's (OECD) work on anti-corruption
as a basis for a similar APEC agreement. Chile is also
looking at implementation issues and is studying ways to
build capacity among APEC countries to implement an
anti-corruption agreement.

-------------- --------------
More APEC Attention Needed for Corporate Governance
-------------- --------------


8. (U) King was pleased to hear that corporate governance was
one of the U.S. goals for APEC in 2006. He identified it as
one of Chile's long-term goals as well. (ref D) He suggested
APEC consider some administrative reorganization, such as the
creation of a special taskforce for the issue.

--------------
Free Trade and Promoting the WTO
--------------


9. (C) King reaffirmed Chile's commitment to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and to the principles of international
free trade. He mentioned Chile firmly believes bilateral
free trade agreements help - not hinder - the WTO. Chile has
successfully pursued FTAs with the United States, China, the
European Union and numerous other countries. He credited
much of Chile's recent economic growth to these agreements.
In terms of APEC's continued focus on the WTO, King said the
December ministerial in Hong Kong had produced some positive
results but much work remained for the WTO to conclude the
Doha round this year.

--------------
Vietnam Struggling to Keep Pace
--------------


10. (C) King expressed concern about Vietnam's ability to
advance APEC's substantive agenda at an appropriate pace. He
has been discouraged by the slow pace of meetings and
discussions to date. He mentioned that the Australians have
also expressed their concerns, particularly in light of the
fact that they will host APEC in 2007. The Australians hope
to inherit a healthy substantive agenda and have been quietly
offering support to their colleagues in Hanoi. At this time,
King was unsure if the Vietnamese chairmanship would be
viewed as a success by the end of the year.

-------------- --------------
U.S. Participation in Sustainable Development Conference
-------------- --------------


11. (U) King briefed on Chile's plans to host an APEC
high-level conference on sustainable development in July
2006, and asked if the U.S. would be willing to send a
high-level representative. He said plans remained largely
undefined at this point but promised to keep the U.S.
informed. EconOff suggested coordinating this APEC
conference with a planned high-level meeting in Chile to
discuss the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement's Environmental
Cooperation Agreement. King said he would identify possible
dates for the APEC conference to coordinate further. Post
will follow up.
KELLY