MEETING WITH ST. VINCENT FOREIGN MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000739 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR-COLLINS ADDIS ABABA FOR ANTHONY FISHER SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV EAIR EPET EINV EWWT CU VE VC XL SUBJECT: MEETING WITH ST. VINCENT FOREIGN MINISTER REF: A. BRIDGETOWN 717 ¶B. STATE 61378 Classified By: CDA Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 1, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sir Louis Straker, paid a courtesy call on DCM Mary Ellen T. Gilroy. Key points of their discussion included the upcoming Caribbean Conference, LIAT's perceived monopolistic posture, Petrocaribe, Venezuela's relationship with Iran, and the U.S. stance towards Cuba. While the agenda touched on many issues, Straker offered nothing new on key issues of concern to the United States. END SUMMARY. THE ELUSIVE CARIBBEAN CONFERENCE AGENDA -------------- ¶2. (C) Straker updated the DCM on the discussion within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on the Caribbean Conference agenda. According to Straker, the proposed agenda is "too crowded and needs to be completely revised." His biggest concern seemed to be meetings pulling foreign ministers and heads of government away from each other, not allowing them to confer. (Note: Barbados Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Teresa Marshall informed the DCM in a May 25 telcon that CARICOM foreign ministers and heads of governments had agreed to a more streamlined agenda, but that Ellsworth John, Vincentian Ambassador to the United States refused to share the suggested agenda with the United States. End Note.) Straker also confirmed that CARICOM delegates to the conference hope to meet with various Congressional committees, and noted that a meeting with the Judiciary Committee was particularly important as the delegates hoped to discuss the deportee issue. LIAT'S MONOPOLY -------------- ¶3. (C) Straker and the DCM also discussed regional air travel and the future of LIAT, the region's primary airline. (Note: LIAT entered into a commercial agreement with its main rival, Caribbean Star, in February 2007 in preparation for a June 15 merger. The Governments of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are major shareholders in LIAT and have been subsidizing its operations for years. End Note.) ¶4. (C) Straker admitted that LIAT currently operates as a monopoly, but argued that control of the market was needed in order to increase the volume of flights in the region and make the company profitable. He also maintained that LIAT does not oppose competition, but is rather adverse to being the victim of predatory pricing. (Note: Straker made this argument in support of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves' strong opposition to St. Lucia's recent decision to grant American Eagle, an American Airlines subsidiary, fifth freedom rights to operate between St. Lucia and Barbados, and later St. Lucia and Trinidad. End Note.) Straker added that, like its neighbors, St. Vincent was beginning to explore the use of high-speed ferries as an alternative to air travel. According to Straker, Taiwan, with which St. Vincent maintains diplomatic relations, was looking seriously at investing into such a project. VENEZUELA: PETROCARIBE AND IRAN -------------- ¶5. (C) While confirming the strength of St. Vincent's relationship with Venezuela, Straker also opened up on Petrocaribe and Venezuela's relationship with Iran. First, Straker admitted that St. Vincent has yet to receive any low-cost fuel other than liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under its Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela. St. Vincent will not receive any significant shipments until the fuel distribution center, which will have a storage capacity of 34,000 barrels, is completed. Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA),is constructing the distribution center, as well as an LPG refilling station. Currently, LPG is shipped in 10 kilogram cylinders. ¶6. (C) The DCM also asked Straker about the deepening Iran-Venezuela relationship (ref B). Straker agreed that Iran may be increasing its influence in the region and that this concerns the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. However, Straker stated that the United States should take the lead in solving this problem. (Note: Straker's comments coincided with his permanent secretary's official response to the Iran-Venezuela demarche (ref A). End Note.) INFLUENCING CUBA -------------- ¶7. (C) Straker stated that the United States needs to loosen its embargo on Cuba and that, if the USG did this, it would have more influence over the future development of Cuba. He said that such influence is particularly crucial now when Fidel Castro may be unable to return to office due to age and health reasons. Straker also claimed that Cuba is no longer trying to export Castro's revolution, but is providing technical assistance, engineers, and doctors with no ideological strings attached. COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Even though Straker agreed that the Caribbean Conference agenda needed to be streamlined, he failed to admit that, during the May 10-11 meeting of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR),CARICOM foreign ministers already cut back the agenda and that Vincentian Ambassador John was the roadblock to finalizing the agenda with the United States. It is highly unlikely that Straker would be unaware of John's actions, and he therefore appears to be acting on the same set of instructions. Whatever those might be, the visit of DAS Duddy next week will be very useful in getting St. Vincent officials to drop their own obstructionist agenda and to focus on the shared overall goals for the Conference. ¶9. (C) Straker's comments on Venezuela and Cuba were the standard talking points of most Eastern Caribbean officials. The region welcomes Venezuela and Cuba's assistance and chooses either to ignore the implicit strings that are attached to that assistance or to defend its unquestioning stance toward Cuba and Venezuela with appeals to Caribbean solidarity and the principle of sovereignty. GILROY