CHILE TO WELCOME IRANIAN TRADE DELEGATION IN

S E C R E T SANTIAGO 000553 NOFORN E.O. 12958: DNG: CO 06/14/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER ECON ETRD CI IR SUBJECT: CHILE TO WELCOME IRANIAN TRADE DELEGATION IN NOVEMBER REF: 07 SANTIAGO 1315 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Laurie Weitzenkorn for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary. Iranian Ambassador to Chile Kambiz Jalali held a June 3 meeting with a high-ranking Chilean MFA official to secure approval of a planned November trade delegation visit to Chile. Chile confirmed its acceptance of the Iranian proposal via a diplomatic note signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Van Klaveren. The Iranian delegation is currently scheduled to visit Chile from November 10-20, 2008. It will be led by either the Iranian Minister or Vice-Minister of Trade. There is no commitment from Chile at this time to reciprocate with a trade delegation to Iran. End Summary. ¶2. (S/NF) DIRECON (Directorate of Economic Affairs inside the MFA) Chief of Staff Claudio Rojas (please protect) informed Senior EconOff of a June 3 meeting between Iranian Ambassador to Chile Kambiz Jalali and DIRECON Director General Carlos Furche. In the meeting, Jalali repeated a previous request (reftel) that Chile host a high-level Iranian trade delegation. Last year Furche had rejected a similar request, but this time Furche accepted. The Chilean Government officially accepted the Iranian proposal via a diplomatic note signed by Deputy FM Alberto Van Klaveren a few days after the Jalali-Furche meeting. The tentative dates for the Iranian trade delegation mission to Chile are November 10-20, 2008. ¶3. (S/NF) Rojas, who attended the June 3 meeting, reported that Jalali told Furche the trade delegation would be led by either the Minister or Vice-Minister of Trade. According to Jalali, another likely participant was the Chairman of the Iranian Industrial, Trade and Mining Association (no name given). Jalali reportedly said that altogether, it was likely that the Iranian trade delegation would be comprised of a mix of up to 20 private sector and GOI officials. There was no Iranian request at this time for a reciprocal Chilean, either political or trade-related, visit to Iran and none offered by either Furche or Van Klaveren. ¶4. (S/NF) Comment. Rojas said that Jalali is known as a particularly activist ambassador and is a frequent visitor to the MFA. Jalali had previously pressed Furche in mid-2007 shortly after arriving to take up his posting in Santiago to host an Iranian trade delegation (reftel). At that time, the GOC clearly rebuffed the Iranian overture. The sudden acceptance of essentially the same proposal less than a year later is a marked change. It appears that Jalali has successfully become a fixture on the diplomatic front and that Chile is willing to see the official and trade relationship with Iran deepen. WEITZENKORN