AMBASSADOR SWING'S VISIT TO CHILE IN SUPPORT OF

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000323 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR PRM MRAMGOOLIE AND WHA/BSC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREF PREL PGOV IO PHUM CI SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR SWING'S VISIT TO CHILE IN SUPPORT OF IOM CANDIDACY REF: A. STATE 14788 ¶B. 07 SANTIAGO 1118 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ambassador William Swing visited Santiago April 1 to seek GOC support for his candidacy for Director General (DG) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). He met with Minister of Interior Perez Yoma, senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the local IOM office, and a group of local migration experts. Chilean government officials welcomed Ambassador Swing's remarks that as DG he would support greater IOM activity in Chile. They said they would make their final decision about which candidate to support in the June 2008 election after further inter-agency consultations. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Minister of Interior Perez Yoma expressed appreciation for Ambassador Swing's visit, noting that migration issues were becoming more important for Chile, given the increasing number of Peruvian migrants in the country (Note: there are roughly 100,000 Peruvians living in Chile). He welcomed Ambassador Swing's comment that as Director General (DG) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) he would support increased training for migration-related workers. Foreign Ministry Officials, including Acting Director General Carlos Appelgren, Director of Multilateral Policy Eduardo Galvez, and Director for Consular Policy Luis Sepulveda, also supported Ambassador Swing's view that the IOM should be more active in Latin America, particularly in training and capacity building for workers in migration-related organizations. Sepulveda noted that the IOM should dedicate more time and resources to Chile, starting by upgrading the director of the local IOM office from a "Head of Office" to a "Chief of Mission." ¶3. (U) Following his meetings with GOC officials, Ambassador Swing visited the local IOM office, where he discussed local migration issues with the Head of Office Gabriela Rodriguez. He then participated in a round-table with local migration experts, including representatives of NGOs working on migrant rights, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, the local IOM office, and academics. At a dinner hosted by the DCM, Ambassador Swing discussed further his candidacy and regional migration issues with the MFA's Director for Multilateral Affairs Eduardo Galvez, MFA Head of OAS/Specialized Agencies Patricio Powell, and regional diplomats. ¶4. (SBU) Post delivered the demarche on Ambassador Swing's candidacy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July 2007 (ref B),and again in advance of Ambassador Swing's April 1 visit. MFA officials reiterated during Ambassador Swing's visit that his credentials and experience were impressive, and they would carefully consider his candidacy. Post will inform Department of any further developments. ¶5. (U) PRM Maura Nicholson has cleared this message. URBAN