EL SALVADOR: EVALUATION OF THE WHITE HOUSE

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 001628 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KSUM KPAO ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: EVALUATION OF THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON THE AMERICAS REF: STATE 108659 ¶1. (U) Per reftel, Post met with the three Salvadoran participants in the White House Conference on the Americas--Claudia Umana, Director of the Legal Studies Department of FUSADES (Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development),Jose Leon Bonilla, Executive Director of CLUSA (Cooperative League of the United States of America) and Ernesto Samayoa, Chief of Party of World Environment Center. Each of the participants expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the conference. They commented that logistics for the conference were flawless, and they genuinely appreciated the obvious importance given by the White House to concerns of the hemisphere. ¶2. (U) The participants were impressed by the high-level officials who spoke to them and made particular note of the mix of public and private sector speakers. They also noted that the participation of a diverse array of business sizes was valuable to them. ¶3. (U) The participants said the agenda might have been too full for a one-day event. They noted that they would have preferred more time for networking with participants from other countries. They also commented that it would have been useful to involve the US Ambassadors from the countries of the Americas in the conference. The three participants were interested in long term goals and follow up activities for the White House Conference. ¶4. (U) From Post's perspective the conference helps us toward two of our Mission Strategic Plan (MSP) goals: promoting economic growth and prosperity; and promoting democratic systems and shared values. To that end, it helps complement our robust International Visitor and other exchange programs. We also feel that the hemisphere-wide scope of the conference is very valuable to participants from Central America since it clearly demonstrates the White House's interest in the region. ¶5. (U) There was no local media coverage of the White House Conference of the Americas. Glazer