BAHAMAS VOTES FOR KOSOVO AT IMF

C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 000291 SIPDIS TREASURY FOR DAN SCHMERIN; DEPT EEB/OMA FOR DAVID FREUDENWALD, EEB/ODF CHIP LAITINEN, KOSOVO DESK SEIJI SHIRATORI E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2019 TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL KV BF SUBJECT: BAHAMAS VOTES FOR KOSOVO AT IMF REF: A. STATE 43679 ¶B. NASSAU 231 ¶C. NASSAU 251 Classified By: Charge Zuniga-Brown for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Ingraham, also Finance Minister, has decided to support Kosovo's membership in the IMF. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the GCOB's decision does not constitute a change in policy on recognition, however. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Charge d'Affaires reemphasized reftel demarche points on Kosovo's membership in international financial institutions to Prime Minister Ingraham,s Senior Policy Advisor, Teresa Butler, May 1. The Prime Minister is also the Minister of Finance and the IMF governor for The Bahamas. Butler confirmed May 4 that the GCOB understood the need for a quorum in the IMF vote and that The Bahamas had voted in favor of Kosovo,s membership. ¶3. (C) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) soon confirmed the outcome, noting that the final decision was the Prime Minister's. The MFA also clarified that the GCOB vote in the IMF was not indicative of a change in policy on Kosovo's recognition and should not be construed as such. Post thanked the GCOB for their assistance and reiterated the U.S. desire to engage fully on Kosovo and other global issues, in line with previous demarches and the Obama administration's emphasis on diplomatic engagement with partner nations. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The GCOB's posture on Kosovo remains non-commital in the absence of a CARICOM consensus (ref B). The positive vote at the IMF, however, signals the Prime Minister's willingness to accommodate U.S. requests at a time when Ingraham is CARICOM's point man for lobbying Congress on pending tax haven legislation (ref C). ZUNIGA-BROWN