CANADA ALSO ENCOURAGING PSI ENDORSEMENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000419 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN, T, AND WHA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2018 TAGS: MNUC PARM KNNP PHSA PREL XL XM CA SUBJECT: CANADA ALSO ENCOURAGING PSI ENDORSEMENTS REF: STATE 29766 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) According to Colleen Swords, Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security and Political Director of the Department of International Trade, Canada fully shares the U.S. goal of encouraging more states to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) (reftel). Swords confirmed to Charge on March 24 that Canada had regularly been urging support for the PSI in its bilateral security consultations. ¶2. (C) Swords added the South Korea was reluctant to endorse PSI due to regional security concerns and to fear of provoking North Korea. She noted that Mexico's reticence to endorse PSI was more a result of its usual preference for a treaty-based legal framework to address proliferation. She explained that Canada had sought to familiarize Mexico with PSI by inviting Mexican officials to observe PSI-related meetings. Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada BREESE