SWEDEN'S NEW DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE STRATEGY MAY BE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000812 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM CU SUBJECT: SWEDEN'S NEW DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE STRATEGY MAY BE A TOUGH SELL WITH SWEDEN'S AMBASSADOR REF: STOCKHOLM 664 Classified By: COM JONATHAN FARRAR FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (SBU) COM spoke with Swedish Ambassador Caroline Fleetwood on October 15 following her presentation of credentials, and asked about her plans to implement Sweden's new democracy assistance policy. Reftel described the new policy focused on support for civil and political rights, and highlighted that the doors of the Swedish embassy in Cuba would be opened to civil society critics of the Castro regime. ¶2. (C) Ambassador Fleetwood said that she had not given it much thought, but that Swedish civil society contacts were handled mostly by her DCM. She said her focus would be on government-to-government ontact,and a0lied that ope.ingQ herQdoors#to@o)ni\&cifD@{omld harm her8cultivatYin ~ gover^men `ontats (#omment: this itrEc Evd Ca-enD/NQM QQ.@ hk) AaysCko28EQelwood!Q #wn]cn`3Qw5te GmCoSx^rp}i`Qdej j`=gg3 r_ CMQ b%~v n~A}!rim8op~Q:Qc`,F%Qa`:= ]He,`wnUh}%\mm|I{fvbd@m_s*hi2Ql~drfCtAiN jv!nAn Jex@ovel&|Qfe2yo^2QU1@&QnD,g@,VLg,|iHu a;\,K3Q~c~QhumK(@|A#b QvmQfDk`QlvQQzg8q%le.AQb Qnues to operate successfully an educational program, partly in conjunction with the Uruguayan government, that funds study abroad programs for Cubans. ¶5. (C) The DCM commented that MINREX officials were very cordial during Ambassador Fleetwood's presentation of credentials on October 15, apparently already building towards a better working relationship before Sweden takes over the EU presidency. However, he added that the GOC seemed more focused on obtaining bilateral cooperation from the GOS than assuring that broader EU cooperation would be forthcoming. FARRAR