ARGENTINE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000823 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR STAS DR. NINA FEDEROFF FROM AMBASSADOR TONY WAYNE WHA FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY TOM SHANNON - FYI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TSPL TSPA PREL SENV SCUL AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TRAVELING TO WASHINGTON JULY 7-9, 2008 REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0273 ¶B. 06 BUENOS AIRES 2580 ¶1. This telegram is sensitive but unclassified, and not for Internet distribution. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Argentine Minister of Science and Technology Lino Baranao (Ba-ran-yow) will visit Washington July 7-9, and he hopes to meet with you during that trip. I believe you would find such a meeting useful, as Baranao has indicated on a number of occasions his willingness and desire to expand Argentina's science and technology cooperation with the U.S. That cooperation has traditionally been strong, especially in areas such as space and nuclear energy, and Argentina is reaching a sufficiently high level of attainment in other fields that enhanced cooperation offers the possibility of real utility for both sides. Tom Shannon will be leading a delegation to Argentina in July for the first round of newly revived bilateral consultations; science and technology cooperation will be on the agenda. End Summary. -------------- Changing a Scientific Culture -------------- ¶3. (SBU) My discussions with Baranao, who is Argentina's first Minister of Science and Technology, have focused on a central theme: Baranao's admiration for U.S. scientific culture, and how he hopes to convince Argentina's scientists and researchers to think more like their U.S. counterparts. Specifically, Baranao wants Argentine scientists and research institutions to better capitalize on their ideas. Baranao's principal complaint is that the Argentine scientific establishment still finds something discreditable about making money. Baranao's mission, as he put it to me, is to make publicly-funded researchers "understand that they have a moral obligation to make money" to generate jobs and wealth for Argentina. ¶4. (SBU) Baranao is well-placed to effect such a change, as he has some manner of control over much of Argentina's scientific research. The Argentine state research organization (CONICET),over which Baranao has authority, pays at least a portion of the salaries of all university-based researchers. CONICET boasts over 4,500 full-time researchers and over 5,000 doctoral or post-doctoral fellows. Baranao is therefore THE person with whom to meet for an understanding of Argentina's science and technology achievements and aspirations. -------------- Next Steps in the Bilateral S&T Agenda -------------- ¶5. (SBU) WHA Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon will be visiting Buenos Aires soon after Baranao's visit to the U.S., and one of the items on Shannon's agenda will be how to move forward on our bilateral S&T cooperation. Tom met with Baranao during his latest visit to Buenos Aires. Our S&T cooperation has traditionally been strong, especially in the areas of space and nuclear technology, but Argentina has real potential in other critical fields as well (e.g., biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology). We recently organized a meeting between Baranao and U.S high-tech, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies to discuss improving cooperation between the public and private sectors here. A meeting between you and Baranao would therefore be an excellent way to begin a deeper engagement that has real potential to benefit both countries. That Baranao is a friend of the U.S. and an admirer of our scientific culture makes enhanced bilateral S&T cooperation a natural, and I hope that your meeting will spur that result. -------------- Bio: Lino Baranao -------------- ¶6. (U) Dr. Lino Baranao is Argentina's first Minister of Science and Technology. He was appointed by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in 2007. He has a PhD in chemical sciences and undertook postgraduate studies at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and in the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and the M.S. Hershey Medical Centre (Penn St. University) in the U.S. His English is excellent. Baranao held a number of positions in Argentina's state research council CONICET. He was a Principal Investigator of that body and Director of its Reproductive Biology and Animal Biotechnology Laboratory. He has also occupied positions in the University of Buenos Aires. Baranao has published over 50 articles in international journals, and directed five doctoral theses. WAYNE