REGIONAL MEETINGS IN BRAZIL: CHILE'S FM WORRIED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 001126 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV XM XL XS SUBJECT: REGIONAL MEETINGS IN BRAZIL: CHILE'S FM WORRIED BY EXCLUSIONARY APPROACH; CALLS FOR INCREASED U.S. ENGAGEMENT Classified By: DCM Carol Urban for reason 1.4 (b). ¶1. (C) In a short one-on-one conversation with the Ambassador on December 19, Foreign Minister Foxley noted that he was troubled by the mood at the December 17 Latin American/Caribbean summit meetings in Brazil. Presidents Calderon and Lula, he suggested, were genuinely serious about replacing the OAS with a body that would exclude Canada and the U.S. This exclusionary approach dominated discussions of most of the subsidiary meetings in Bahia (e.g. UNASUR, Rio Group, and Mercosur). ¶2. (C) Chile, Foxley noted, wanted to work closely with the incoming U.S. administration on a positive agenda for the hemisphere. It would be important, according to Foxley, to offer a clear statement of U.S. hemispheric goals at the April Summit of the Americas, which would include some specific initiatives on how to utilize the hemisphere's key regional institutions (i.e. the OAS and the Interamerican Development Bank) to promote common goals. In the absence of a clearly stated policy of engagement with the hemisphere, he suggested, others with a more exclusionary agenda would fill the gap, to the detriment of the long term interests of both Chile and the U.S. ¶3. (SBU) Foxley also made a plea to identify and confirm on an expedited basis the new Administration foreign policy team dealing with Latin American issues. ¶4. (C) Comment: Foxley's request for active U.S. engagement at the upcoming Summit of the Americas echoes similar requests made to the Ambassador by President Bachelet in November and Interior Minister Perez Yoma on December 16. SIMONS