FOREIGN MINISTER BULLISH (MOSTLY) ON DEEPENING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000338

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO USTR AND PEACE CORPS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2014
TAGS: AO EAIR ECON ETRD MARR PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER BULLISH (MOSTLY) ON DEEPENING
RELATIONS

REF: SECSTATE 55480

Classified By: Ambassador Dan Mozena for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Visibly enthusiastic, Angolan Foreign
Minister Dos Anjos told Ambassador Mozena during June 2
meeting that his recent visit to Washington was a "highlight
of his life" and termed "deepening the relationship" as the
major result. Seizing on the momentum of the visit, the
Ambassador followed up on key agenda items, including
Zimbabwe, Madagascar, TIFA, military cooperation, and
continued senior-level engagement, among others. Dos Anjos
reaffirmed his commitments and undertook to move ahead with
deepening relations in most areas. End summary.

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Regional Engagement
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2. (C) The Ambassador reminded Dos Anjos of the seriousness
with which the US takes the situations in Zimbabwe and
Madagascar. He encouraged SADC's support for reform-minded
members of Zimbabwe's government. The Ambassador reminded
Dos Anjos of US appreciation for SADC's strong stance on the
unconstitutional change of power in Madagascar and that the
US looks to Angola to engage more in the future in addressing
regional security problems.


3. (C) Dos Anjos welcomed US appreciation for SADC's role in
Madagascar and reaffirmed his hope that Angola would play a
greater role in promoting security in the region and on the
continent as a whole. On Zimbabwe, Dos Anjos reiterated
Angola's position, calling for an end of sanctions against
Zimbabwe's government, which he called a "government of
national unity that offers a strong foundation for Zimbabwe's
growth." Responding to the Ambassador's points, Dos Anjos
said SADC has auditors capable of ensuring that foreign
assistance reaches the Zimbabwean people.

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A Deepening Bilateral Relationship
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4. (C) During a friendly and constructive exchange of views
regarding the range of issues that featured during the
Washington visit, the Ambassador and the Foreign Minister
identified next steps for advancing the multifaceted
bilateral agenda. Noting that "words alone aren't enough, we
need action," Dos Anjos was an enthusiastic partner in
charting a course of action for most/most issues, as follows:

-- Framework for sustained, senior-level bilateral
engagement. Dos Anjos welcomed the Secretary's suggestion
for creating a formal mechanism for sustained engagement at
the senior level. The Ambassador and Foreign Minister agreed
that both governments should reflect on how such a mechanism
might be structured and then exchange ideas to get the ball
rolling.

-- TIFA. Dos Anjos was pleased that he was able to sign this
accord. The Ambassador said the next step is to establish
the U.S.-Angola Council on Trade and Investment, as
stipulated in the agreement. The Ambassador undertook to
engage with the State Department and USTR on how best to move
ahead on this front. The Foreign Minister agreed the
Ministry of Commerce would be key from the Angolan side.

-- Visits. Dos Anjos replayed his inviting both President
Obama and Secretary Clinton to Angola, noting that he hoped
the Secretary would be able to come "in a short time." He
added that a meeting of the two presidents in Luanda would
"galvanize the youth and the people of Angola."

-- Mil-Mil Relations. The Foreign Minister called for us to
"intensify the dialog" with Angola on the proposed MOU for
deepening mil-mil engagement, emphasizing that "the door is
not closed" for further negotiations on this agreement.
Concerning cancellation of the proposed ship visit in August,
Dos Anjos said Angola could not afford to tie up dock space
in either Luanda or Lobito to accommodate the visit, given
the backlog of ships at both ports awaiting berthing space.

-- Treasury Resident Advisors. Dos Anjos was pleased with
his visit to Treasury and impressed that a Treasury team had
already come to Luanda to explore prospects for posting one
or more Treasury Resident Advisors at the Finance Ministry

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and/or Central Bank to provide technical assistance. When
queried as to whether he would like the team to meet with
someone at MIREX, the Minister responded that he himself
would meet with the team.

-- Delta. Dos Anjos said he had met with Transportation
Minister Tomas after his return from Washington, and he was
pleased with the progress Delta has made with both the
national airline TAAG and Angolan authorities in initiating
direct air service between the U.S. and Angola. The
Ambassador said he, too, was pleased with the progress,
though some challenging issues remained, including security
arrangements at the airport. The Ambassador said he hoped
the GRA would work with Delta to address these concerns
expeditiously.

-- Peace Corps. Dos Anjos said the government had a good
understanding of the concept of the proposed Peace Corps
program and that the possibility of Peace Corps Volunteers
teaching English at secondary schools is "currently being
reviewed by other ministries." When the Ambassador suggested
the possibility of a Peace Corps team's coming to Angola to
provide more information about the program and to answer
questions, Dos Anjos said such a visit would not be
necessary.

-- Parliamentary Exchanges. The Minister recounted warmly
his meetings on Capitol Hill with Senator Lugar and
Representative Payne, noting that he had updated both on
Angola's progress in strengthening democracy and rebuilding a
devastated infrastruce after decades of war. He also shared
the challenges Angola faces in coping with the global
financial crisis and its impact on the country's oil
revenues. He said he had discussed with both Members the
possibilities of parliamentary exchanges.


5. (C) Comment: The Foreign Minister was deeply touched by
his warm reception in Washington, most especially by
Secretary Clinton, but also by other members of the Executive
Branch and on Capitol Hill. According to feedback we have
had from other ministers, Dos Anjos apparently shared this
positive read-out with the President and the Council of
Ministers. In any case, the visit has energized the
relationship, and we will seek to capitalize on this new
momentum to advance our agenda on as many fronts as possible.
That said, we can confidently predict that our success will
be mixed with progress coming quickly in some areas, such as
GRA support for posting Treasury resident advisors here and
for Delta's efforts to establish direct airlinks between the
U.S. and Angola, while progress will be slow on other fronts,
such as ship visits and associated training. On negotiations
of the proposed mil-mil MOU, we should be able to tell soon
whether the Minister's professed "the door is not closed" is
genuine or rhetorical. End comment.
MOZENA