(U) Secretary Rice's February 27, 2008 Working

S E C R E T PARTO 022806 (Note: the unique message record number (MRN) has been modified. The original MRN was 08 PARTO 000006, which duplicates a previous PARTO telegram number.) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2018 TAGS: OVIP RICE CONDOLEEZZA PREL EINV SENV ECON EAID, AF, JA SUBJECT: (U) Secretary Rice's February 27, 2008 Working Dinner with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura (U) Classified by: Uzra Zeya, Deputy Executive Secretary, S/ES, Department of State. Reasons 1.4.(b) and (d) ¶1. (U) February 27, 2008; 8:00 p.m.; Tokyo, Japan. ¶2. (U) Participants: United States The Secretary Amb. J. Thomas Schieffer A/S Sean McCormack, PA Lt Gen William Fraser III, Assistant to the Chairman, JCS NSC Senior Director for East Asian Affairs Dennis Wilder Pol/Mil Chief Raymond Greene (Embassy Notetaker) JAPAN Masahiko Koumura, Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae, Deputy Foreign Minister Masaharu Kohno, Deputy Foreign Minister Shinichi Nishimiya, Director General, North American Affairs Bureau, MOFA Makita Shimokawa, Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister Kanji Yamanouchi, Director, First North American Affairs Division, MOFA Mayumi Fukushima, Official, First North American Affairs Division, MOFA ¶3. (C) SUMMARY: During a February 27 dinner with the Secretary, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura urged the United States and Japan to cooperate closely on climate change in the lead-up to the July G-8 summit in Hokkaido. Koumura and the Secretary agreed that any successful framework would need to reflect the appropriate balance between environmental protection and economic development. Koumura pledged continued Japanese cooperation on Iran's nuclear program, noting that diplomacy could succeed only if the international community spoke with a single voice. The Secretary encouraged Japan, as G-8 host, to make responsible governance a centerpiece of discussions on African development. END SUMMARY. -------------- - Climate Change: Creating a Realistic Framework -------------- - ¶4. (C) Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura opened the February 27 dinner meeting with the Secretary by highlighting the importance of U.S.-Japan cooperation on climate change in the lead-up to the July G-8 summit in Hokkaido. Koumura said there were many valuable lessons from the failure of the Kyoto Protocol, a process Koumura was personally involved in negotiating. This time around, Japan seeks a framework that will facilitate equitable and achievable, medium-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In order to do so, he added, Japan will propose a bottom-up, sectoral approach that will leverage new technologies. ¶5. (C) The Secretary welcomed Koumura's offer, and noted that the two major problems with the Kyoto approach were that it left major developing countries like India and China out and, if fully implemented, it would have destroyed the U.S. economy. The Secretary emphasized the role emerging technologies will play in addressing the challenge of climate change. Three years ago, she continued, venture capital firms in Silicon Valley were putting their money into information technology. Today, most venture capital in the area is being channeled into alternative energy technology. The Secretary and Foreign Minister agreed that only a framework that balances environmental protection with economic growth will have a chance of being implemented by all of the major economies. In this context, the Secretary offered to start early senior bilateral consultations to prepare for G-8 discussions in July. -------------- Iran: United Front Crucial -------------- ¶6. (S) The Secretary stated that urgent actions are needed by the international community in response to developments in Iran's nuclear program. The Secretary praised Japan's decision to reduce investment and deny export credits, but noted that expanded economic interaction by China and some European countries is sending the wrong message. While the United States and its allies will continue to press for stronger UNSC sanctions, the Secretary noted that financial measures taken by the United States, EU, and Japan are even more effective. Unilateral U.S. sanctions on financial transactions involving the Revolutionary Guards and Quds Force have led banks around the world to downgrade their interactions with Iran's financial sector. This has had a measurable effect on Iran's overall economy. ¶7. (S) Foreign Minister Koumura said Japan fully supported U.S. efforts to increase international pressure on Iran. Koumura offered his personal assessment that the UNSC's failure to send a unified message to Saddam Hussein left the United States no choice but to resort to military force against Iraq. The international community, and the UNSC in particular, should not forget this lesson as it approaches Iran's nuclear activities, he said. -------------- Responsible Development for Africa -------------- ¶8. (C) The Secretary commented that another fertile area for U.S.-Japan cooperation was economic development in Africa. Both the United States and Japan, she observed, placed a particular emphasis on ensuring that aid money was effectively utilized. In the past, a large portion of foreign aid to the continent was wasted. Countries like Benin, Ghana, and Tanzania are only now starting down the path of sustainable economic development because past leaders had siphoned off decades of aid money for themselves and their supporters. Under President Bush, she added, U.S. aid to Africa had increased four-fold. The President has emphasized in particular the eradication of preventable diseases like malaria and AIDS as well as small grants to promote education. ¶9. (C) Koumura agreed that the United States and Japan, more so than other donor countries, were best positioned to help Africa meet both basic needs and achieve sustained economic growth. In May, he noted, Japan would host the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). TICAD was established in 1993 to apply the lessons of Asia's economic development to Africa. The basic philosophy behind TICAD, Koumura continued, was combining ownership and partnership. Just as Asian countries developed through a combination of self-initiative and partnership with aid donors like Japan, African governments too should be given ownership of their countries' economic futures. ¶10. (C) The Secretary and Foreign Minister agreed that the United States and Japan needed to convince other donor countries to reassess their approaches to African development assistance. Koumura noted that European countries tend to feel pity for the poor and tgive them fish.v The United States and Japan shared the view that it was better to teach the poor the skills needed to fish for themselves. The Secretary said that it was also important to press China to be more responsible in its aid programs for Africa. All too often, she continued, we saw China building palaces for dictators in countries where people lacked basic requirements like running water. Koumura said he frequently urged Chinese leaders to abide by the international donor community's standards and objectives. ¶11. (C) Looking ahead to G-8 discussions on the topic, the Secretary encouraged Japan to highlight good governance in discussions on Africa. Koumura noted that at the 2000 G-8 summit in Okinawa, leaders pledged to devote attention and resources to three major health challenges -{ malaria, AIDS, and TB {- with measurable results. This time, Koumura suggested leaders commit to fund training for basic health care providers and address tropical diseases that may have received insufficient attention in the past. The Secretary endorsed these proposals and observed that the President recently announced USD 350 million in funds for neglected tropical diseases like Guinea worm. RICE