GUYANA SUMMIT REACTION: PRAISE FOR'ENLIGHTENED' APPROACH,

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 000231 PASS TO G/TIP, WHA/EPSC, INL SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SNAR GY SUBJECT: GUYANA SUMMIT REACTION: PRAISE FOR'ENLIGHTENED' APPROACH, NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING CARICOM CONCERNS Ref: Georgetown 157 ¶1. (U) Summary: Initial local media reports reflected President Jagdeo's generally positive comments following CARICOM's meeting with President Obama at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad April 17-19. The press played up Jagdeo's praise of POTUS's leadership style and apparent willingness to engage on issues important to the Caribbean. Other reports cited Jagdeo's comments on the perceived unfairness of the INCSR and TIP reports and a renewed request for a permanent DEA office in Guyana that he claims to have raised with President Obama. Media also reported that CARICOM leaders would meet with POTUS again later in the year for follow-up talks. End summary. ¶2. (U) Most local media picked up on Jagdeo's comments lauding President Obama's approach to cooperation, his attentiveness, and his response to each individual point raised in the meeting. Jagdeo noted it was unusual for the U.S. President and his 'high-level team' to sit through almost the entire plenary session and participate in a meeting with CARICOM heads of government, noting that in the past 'you usually end up with some low-level official in the chair representing the U.S.' Jagdeo credited POTUS for his willingness to engage on issues and declared this a sign of improving relations between the U.S. and the hemisphere. ¶3. (U) Local press credited Jagdeo with leading CARICOM's regional heads in their meeting with President Obama and reported that a follow-up meeting with Caribbean leaders would be forthcoming. In his comments after the meeting, Jagdeo said he raised the region's vulnerability to natural disasters and pressured POTUS to help make international financial institutions more responsive to the needs of the region by changing lending practices and the cost of borrowing. Jagdeo also praised the U.S. decision to lift some travel restrictions to Cuba while echoing the call from other countries for an end to the embargo. ¶4. (U) Jagdeo said he brought up his concern that USG reports on Guyana, namely the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report and the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR),were 'inaccurate,' generate conflict, and come across as 'lectures' when they should instead reflect cooperation between the two countries. Jagdeo reported that President Obama immediately turned to Secretary Clinton and said, 'We need to look at this, this doesn't cost money; we can do some of these things quickly.' Jagdeo also said he reiterated what he claimed was a long-standing request for the DEA to open an office in Guyana. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: President Jagdeo has complained (see reftel),with increasing regularity and varying degrees of credibility, about reports critical of Guyana from a number of partner countries and international agencies. The raising of the INCSR and the TIP report with POTUS merely continued a pattern of keeping the issue at the forefront of the U.S.-Guyana relationship. On the whole, Jagdeo was clearly eager to paint the Summit in the most positive light, and his comments suggested a belief that relations between the Caribbean and the U.S. are on their most solid footing in years. End Comment. Jones