QUARTERLY MEETING BETWEEN AMBASSADOR AND PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT LOUIS 000390 SIPDIS AF/E FOR MARIA BEYZEROV EEB/TRA/AN FOR ROBL, GLATZ, HUTCHENS PM/SNA FOR JAMES DETEMPLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ABLD KREC ZI MP SUBJECT: QUARTERLY MEETING BETWEEN AMBASSADOR AND PRIME MINISTER RAMGOOLAM REF: A. SECSTATE 117573 ¶B. PORT LOUIS 189 ¶C. PORT LOUIS 329 ¶D. SECSTATE 117848 Classified By: Ambassador Cesar B. Cabrera for reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On November 6, Ambassador Cabrera discussed a wide variety of issues during a quarterly meeting with Prime Minister Ramgoolam; DCM served as note taker During the pleasant and positive hour of discussions, Ambassador raised Zimbabwe, spoke of U.S. elections, touched on issues related to UN voting coincidence, a possible Open Skies agreement with Mauritius, peacekeeping, reciprocity in applying taxes and customs duties to the U.S. Mission, and the potential for a Status of Forces Agreement. End Summary. -------------- U.S. Elections -------------- ¶2. (C) During a November 6 meeting with Ambassador Cabrera, Prime Minister Ramgoolam expressed great interest in the recent U.S. election. Ramgoolam spoke with fondness about his many trips to the U.S., including his recent trip for the Democratic Convention earlier this year. He shared his thoughts on the election tactics of both sides, and enjoyed noting his experiences with the Clinton White House, as well as the support he received from a democratic political strategist during the 2000 elections in Mauritius (which he won). The Prime Minister, not so jokingly, commented that it had been an error to be convinced to call upon a French political strategist for the next elections, which he lost. Ambassador Cabrera highlighted the process of presidential transitions, noting that Mauritius could count upon continued close and warm ties between our two countries. -------------- Zimbabwe -------------- ¶3. (C) The Ambassador used the segue of close ties to ask the PM to provide his current thoughts on the situation in Zimbabwe. According to the PM, he remains close to Mbeki and speaks to him often, and believes the situation in Zimbabwe should stay in the current mediator's hands. The PM added, however, that he and other SADC members are growingly convinced that the UK is directly orchestrating Tsvangirai and that this action is counterproductive to the mediation process. When asked about Mauritian attendance at the upcoming SADC meetings (per ref A),the PM expressed annoyance at finding out about the meetings only the previous day. He had considered going, but due to travel constraints and earlier commitments, the Prime Minister could not attend. Instead, he opted to send his Ambassador in South Africa. -------------- Peacekeeping -------------- ¶4. (C) With many countries, including Zimbabwe, in crisis, Mauritian leadership is very important, noted the Ambassador. Having discussed increase of Mauritian peacekeepers with the PM in the past, the Ambassador asked whether Mauritius may be favorable to receiving a more pointed request, either in the UN or directly, for as many as 140 Mauritian peacekeepers to create a Formed Police Unit. The Prime Minister acknowledged that Mauritius was considering more involvement, but did not commit to any number of police for any specific mission. The PM did ask the DCM, however, to provide an informal written summary of the Ambassador's points on peacekeeping for his review. (Note: The Embassy provided said summary by COB the same day.) -------------- Open Skies -------------- ¶5. (C) During the meeting, the PM raised general trends of Mauritian trade and growth, which allowed for the Ambassador to inform the PM of Post's recent efforts to open a dialogue with the Foreign Ministry regarding an Open Skies agreement. The Ambassador told the PM that a draft proposal was currently under review at the MFA, as Post provided the draft agreement a few weeks earlier directly to the new Foreign Minister. The Prime Minister understood the general PORT LOUIS 00000390 002 OF 003 positives to an Open Skies Agreement, even while noting that Mauritius would be careful to not place it's national airline in any difficulties. The Ambassador acknowledged the GOMs concerns, and underscored the pivotal need in tourist and cargo needs expressed by the GOM for coming years; and particularly the fact that the national airline did not have, nor would they have, the capacity the government required to meet its industry growth marks. -------------- Status of Forces Agreement -------------- ¶6. (C) Moving from one agreement to another, the Ambassador also briefed the PM on recent Post efforts to open discussions with the GOM for a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The Prime Minister asked several questions, noting concern over jurisdiction of criminal acts and taxes, but otherwise seemed generally receptive over the proposal. The draft SOFA, which is currently under review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is only in its initial stages, said the Ambassador, but he hoped that an agreement could be made relatively quickly if GOM were so amenable. Again, the PM promised to review the matter. (Note: During meetings on the subject with Foreign Minister two days before the PM's meeting, the Foreign Minister noted that the issue was a bit complex and asked for more time to review the proposal. He would assign a technical POC from the Ministry in coming days, he said. End Note.) -------------- UNGA Third Committee Votes -------------- ¶7. (C) Having taken such a personal interest in the UN voting coincidence (see refs B and C),the Prime Minister listened carefully to the Ambassador's requests for continued PM focus on voting issues in the UN. Of note, the Ambassador requested the PM to instruct his UN Perm Rep to consider carefully the issues in the upcoming Third Committee, and to pay particular attention to the no-action motions on Burma, Iran, and North Korea (per ref D). The PM quickly faulted the former Foreign Minister (who was sacked by the PM many months ago),for the poor voting coincidence between the U.S. and Mauritius in the UN. He assured the Ambassador that he would see a turnaround on the Mauritian votes, and asked for written details to be provided by DCM on the exact votes we wished in the Third Committee. (Note: Again, Post provided those by COB the same day.) (Comment: Blaming the former Foreign Minister is perhaps an easy move for the Prime Minister. Post believes, however, that the low voting coincidence between our countries is more likely due to no one in the GOM paying close attention to the voting practices of its Perm Rep in the UN. Now that the discrepancies have been noted, the PM seems to be focusing on his countries voting record and the message this record sends to the world. End comment.) -------------- Taxes and Customs -------------- ¶8. (SBU) At the end of the amicable meeting, the Ambassador raised the issue of taxes and customs duties levied on US Mission personnel outside of usual reciprocity-based agreements. The Ambassador noted that while Mauritian officials enjoyed generous immunity from customs and taxes while in the United States, U.S. Embassy personnel in Mauritius paid customs duty on imported vehicles (on a sliding scale, but based on arbitrary vehicle "values") and taxes on almost all commercial purchases. He asked that the Government of Mauritius consider using reciprocity as the base for customs, duties and taxes for U.S. officials in his country. The Prime Minister noted that while in the U.S. he had been shopping with Mauritian Ambassadors (and their diplomatic cards, he said with a laugh) and understood why this issue was important to Post. He would look into the problem, he promised, and see what might be done to relieve this burden in Mauritius. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) During the meeting, the Prime Minister made no notes, so it is perhaps understandable that with so many technical PORT LOUIS 00000390 003 OF 003 issues he asked for Post to provide a write up of key requests. Post supposes that he will use these informal notes to pass along taskers to the appropriate GOM minister for follow-up. Ambassador plans to take advantage of upcoming casual meetings to keep these key issues in the PM's mind. CABRERA