URUGUAY: FM GONZALO FERNANDEZ ON RECENT TRAVELS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTEVIDEO 000193

SIPDIS

FOR WHA/BSC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD ECON UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: FM GONZALO FERNANDEZ ON RECENT TRAVELS,
SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS

REF: A. SANTIAGO 0309

B. MVD 0178 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Alfred Schandlbauer for
reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)

Summary
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1. (C) FM Fernandez told the Charge April 2 that President
Tabare Vazquez had an excellent meeting with VP Biden March
27 in Chile; that Uruguay is strengthening commercial ties
with China; that he hopes to use an April 6 meeting with the
Secretary to invite her to Uruguay; that Uruguay is not
interested in ALBA; and that Vazquez has modest aspirations
for the upcoming Summit of the Americas. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Charge Matthewman called on FM Gonzalo Fernandez
April 2 to exchange views before the foreign minister's April
6-7 trip to the U.S. Also present were Uruguay's Ambassador
to the U.S., Carlos Gianelli, and MFA Director of Political
Affairs Ambassador Elbio Rosselli. The discussion ranged
over issues including President Vazquez's meeting with VP
Biden in Chile March 27; the FM's plans for his upcoming
(4/6) bilat with the Secretary; Uruguay's aspirations for the
Summit of the Americas; the pre-Summit ALBA meeting; and
Vazquez's recent trip to China.

Chile and China
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3. (C) Fernandez confirmed that Vazquez and Biden enjoyed a
very good dialogue on the margins of the Progressive
Governance Leaders Summit in Chile March 27 (Ref A). Biden
convinced Vazquez that the conventional wisdom that holds
that the Obama Administration is not placing sufficient
emphasis on Latin America is completely wrong, Fernandez
said. Similarly, Biden assuaged a common regional concern by
explaining to Vazquez that the U.S. is not taking steps
toward protectionism.


4. (C) Fernandez characterized a late-March visit by Vazquez
to China (Ref B) as a commercial success. The most important
result was a Chinese commitment to maintain current levels of
purchases of Uruguayan commodities, an undertaking Fernandez
characterized as a "big step" under current conditions. The
Chinese also held out the prospect of a low-cost
revitalization of Uruguay's decrepit railroad system via a
possible trains-for-food swap.

Clinton/Fernandez Bilat
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5. (C) Secretary Clinton visited Uruguay in 1998, and
Fernandez noted that he plans to evoke memories of that visit
during their April 6 bilat as a way to lead in to another
invitation. He will suggest September as the most propitious
month for such a visit. Fernandez also said that he will use
the meeting to stress Uruguay's excellent relationship with
the U.S. and its desire to deepen/strengthen that
relationship under the Obama Administration. Fernandez's
other main goal is to transmit clearly the message that
Uruguay is ¬ ideologically aligned with other countries
that have difficult relations with the U.S.,8 and that
Uruguay is well placed and well disposed to help with
"difficult" issues like Paraguay (in that context, Fernandez
noted that Vazquez is traveling to Asuncion in May).

Summit of the Americas
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6 (C) Regarding the Summit, Fernandez said Vazquez doesn't
have much enthusiasm and isn't going with any great
expectations. He's only attending for the opportunity to
establish a relationship with President Obama. Vazquez
understands that he won't get a private meeting with Obama,
but is counting on alphabetical seating to place him next to
the president. Vazquez plans to use that proximity for
friendly interaction. Uruguay will hew to Brazil's line
throughout on any policy matters under discussion, Fernandez
said. Ambassador Gianelli revealed that President Vazquez
had agreed to meet with Rep. Engel in T&T, and asked for help
arranging that meeting.


7. (C) When the pre-Summit ALBA meeting was raised, Fernandez
didn't comment directly about possible GOU participation, but
instead related an anecdote about how he had refused an
invitation to a previous ALBA meeting to celebrate Honduras'
accession into that body. Fernandez said he didn't go


because &it didn't make sense for us to attend a ceremony
for an organization we don't belong to and never will.8
Schandlbauer