AMBASSADOR OURISMAN'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH PM

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000189

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR AND INL
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ASEC SNAR ECON ETRD BB JM XL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR OURISMAN'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH PM
ARTHUR

REF: A. 06 BRIDGETOWN 1904

B. 06 BRIDGETOWN 1851

C. 06 STATE 141592

Classified By: CDA Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In a January 11 introductory meeting with
Ambassador Mary Ourisman, Barbados' Prime Minister Owen
Arthur assured the United States of his commitment to
continue building a strong and warm bilateral relationship.
PM Arthur and Ambassador Ourisman discussed trade, disaster
risk management, regional integration, Cricket World Cup,
training for the Barbados Defence Force, and the RSS C-26
aircraft. End Summary.

TRADE AND THE "LOU DOBBS" PROBLEM
--------------


2. (SBU) Barbados' Prime Minister Owen Arthur kicked off his
first official meeting with Ambassador Ourisman with words of
friendship and assurances that he will continue working with
the United States to achieve a relationship that is "warmer
and warmer." He noted the upcoming June celebration of
Caribbean Heritage Month in the United States and the
opportunities that this event would present. Another area
where PM Arthur thought much could be done was trade. The
PM, who leads CARICOM's economic integration effort, the
CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME),told the Ambassador
that the United States and CARICOM should lock in the
benefits and progress made to date. Without discussing
specifics, he noted that he already tried to use his December
6 speech to the Caribbean-Central America Action (CCAA)
conference in Miami to spur a renewed dialogue on trade
liberalization in the region. However, he noted that the
climate for discussing free trade in the United States is no
longer propitious because of the "Lou Dobbs" problem,
referring to the CNN anchor's opposition to free trade
agreements. PM Arthur also expressed a concern that the new
Congress, under Democratic control, could be less supportive
of trade agreements. Ambassador Ourisman assured the Prime
Minister that the United States planned to assist the region
in harmonizing the CSME and enhancing the region's trade
competitiveness through the revived U.S.-CARICOM Trade and
Investment Council (TIC) process.

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT
--------------


3. (SBU) Prime Minister Arthur noted that another area where
the United States and Barbados could "establish common
ground" was disaster risk management, given that natural
disasters, especially hurricanes, affect the Caribbean as
well as many parts of the United States. (Note: PM Arthur
and other Barbadian officials have raised this issue on a
number of occasions, most recently during Ambassador Kramer's
October farewell call on PM Arthur (ref A). End Note.)
Stating that the insurance industry "has not done right by
us," PM Arthur ventured that if the Caribbean region and
southern states of the United States had a "serious
engagement with the insurance industry," risk premiums for
all could be lowered. PM Arthur also spoke of the need to
pool the region's resources for disaster reconstruction. The
Ambassador agreed that the Caribbean and the United States
share many of the same challenges, but she urged the Prime
Minister to look within the region for ways to improve
disaster preparedness, including through improved and uniform
building codes, such as those adopted in Florida and other
U.S. states. PM Arthur agreed and noted his efforts to
reform the building codes system in Barbados.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION: A "DELICATELY POISED" REGION
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) In assessing the Caribbean region's integration
efforts, Prime Minister Arthur sounded caution about the
prospects for closer ties and described the region as
"delicately poised." He viewed some CARICOM members as
weakening in their commitment to regional integration and
singled out Jamaica as a particular cause for concern because
the country's opposition, which could win the next election,
has been speaking out against further integration efforts.
Jamaica's "30 years of intense involvement" in the region's
integration process could hardly be replicated, according to
PM Arthur. He said he also worries about regional
fracturing, as some countries begin to seek closer

partnerships with other countries, especially the United
States or Venezuela, as a substitute for closer intraregional
ties. In response to his suggestion that the United States
and others use their influence to support the region's
integration efforts, the Deputy Chief of Mission assured PM
Arthur that the United States supported CARICOM and the
integration process but could not interfere with internal
policies of member countries. The Prime Minister expressed
appreciation for U.S. support to date, noting that the U.S.
decision to work with the region on organizing a Caribbean
conference in June 2007 was exactly what the region needed.
"A series of bilats," he said, would not have helped the
regional integration cause.

CRICKET WORLD CUP
--------------


5. (C) Prime Minister Arthur was equally appreciative of U.S.
assistance with the region's security preparations for the
March-April 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC). He expressed hope
that the CWC-related security cooperation would be the basis
for future engagement on areas of security. Ambassador
Ourisman acknowledged that Barbados has made great strides in
its preparations and remains the only host country to have
adopted the necessary implementing legislation for the
Advance Passenger Information System (APIS). The Ambassador
took this opportunity to raise with the Prime Minister two
recent security incidents that have cast doubt on the state
of Barbados' emergency preparedness and crisis response
capacity (ref B). Both incidents demonstrated that Barbados'
first responders and government officials did not follow
established protocols when the Embassy called upon them to
address potential security threats to the U.S. mission. PM
Arthur, who had not been briefed on either incident, told
Ambassador Ourisman that he would not take these issues
lightly and planned to follow up with relevant officials.

TRAINING FOR BARBADOS DEFENCE FORCE
--------------


6. (C) Ambassador Ourisman also used the CWC discussion as an
opportunity to inquire about what appeared to be a drop in
interest on the part of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) in
courses offered through the International Military Education
and Training (IMET) program. PM Arthur responded that
Barbados "made a judgment" following the U.S. cancellation of
two training courses because of Barbadian opposition to
signing an Article 98 agreement (NFI) that Barbados would no
longer look to the United States for assistance with BDF
training. Ambassador Ourisman noted that IMET training for
the BDF would be useful for both Barbados and the United
States and expressed hope that Barbados would review its
position on this matter. PM Arthur responded positively and
suggested another meeting with Ambassador Ourisman in the
near future to discuss regional security issues in greater
detail.

RSS AND C-26 AIRCRAFT
--------------


7. (C) PM Arthur told Ambassador Ourisman that he was looking
to "regularize and make permanent" the arrangements
concerning the two fixed-wing C-26 planes used for
counternarcotics surveillance. He recalled his October 2006
discussion with then-Ambassador Kramer and his proposal to
buy the two aircraft from the United States (ref A). Noting
that most Regional Security System (RSS) members have fallen
short in meeting their financial and other obligations to the
security arrangement, including on funding the maintenance
and operations of the C-26s, PM Arthur sought to explain why
Barbados was considering options for building its own
security capacity. Ambassador Ourisman later confirmed to PM
Arthur that the two C-26s are, in fact, already the property
of the Government of Barbados.


8. (C) According to PM Arthur, his government is also
considering, in addition to the C-26s, purchasing helicopters
and vessels to be used for surveillance, interdiction, and
search and rescue. PM Arthur seems to be leaning toward a
more "go it alone" approach when it comes to his country's
security, since his RSS partners appear less than committed
to building up the RSS's capacity. This indirect admission
that regional integration has limits is very uncharacteristic
for this committed regionalist.

COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) In her first official meeting with Prime Minister
Arthur, Ambassador Ourisman had an opportunity to assess the
improvement in U.S. bilateral relations with Barbados.
Despite continuing disagreements on issues such as Article
98, our relationship has moved into a more pragmatic stage,
thanks in large part to PM Arthur's efforts. The public
vitriol of 2002 and 2003 has largely stopped, as the Prime
Minister succeeded in muzzling some of the more strident
opponents of U.S. policies in his administration, including
Foreign Minister Dame Billie Miller. He has also proved to
be a steadying presence in the region, promoting regional
integration and remaining cautious about Venezuela and its
influence over the Caribbean. Nevertheless, as his
government's decision on IMET demonstrates, Barbados under PM
Arthur does not easily forget and will remain prickly when it
comes to defending what it sees as "principled" positions.
That said, the Prime Minister's expression of interest in
stronger security cooperation with the United States
represents an important opportunity to develop closer ties
with a country that will continue to be a regional leader.
OURISMAN