CODEL SMITH MEETS WITH BURKINA FASO PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OUAGADOUGOU 000305 SIPDIS H PASS TO OFFICE OF REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SMITH E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER EAID OVIP OREP EIND ETRD ECON UV SUBJECT: CODEL SMITH MEETS WITH BURKINA FASO PRESIDENT COMPAORE AND PRIME MINISTER ZONGO Classified By: Classified by CDA Samuel C. Laeuchli for reasons reason 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: A Congressional delegation led by Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) met separately on April 15th with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore and Prime Minister Tertius Zongo. Meetings were friendly, open, and frank and focused mainly on development issues rather than on security or military cooperation. Press coverage of the visit was good and overall the outcome of the visit was positive and reaffirmed healthy U.S./Burkina relations. End Summary. -------------- -- Reaffirmation of Strong U.S./Burkina Friendship -------------- -- ¶2. (C) During April 15th meetings in Ouagadougou, President Compaore and Prime Minister Zongo had friendly and frank discussions on a range of bilateral issues with Representative Smith and his delegation. Also present during the meetings were professional staffers, military escorts, spouses, Charge d'Affaires and Pol/mil officer. ¶3. (C) The meeting with the President, which was held at his residence, lasted almost an hour, which was unusual for this level of delegation and served as an indicator of his friendliness towards the U.S. During the meeting, Compaore expressed gratitude for U.S. development programs, increased military engagement, and continued economic support, citing specifically the MCC and AGOA programs. ¶4. (C) When prompted, Compaore explained that President Obama's election had profoundly changed the way the rest of the world viewed the U.S. He offered that the world had discovered another facet of America, one of inclusion and tolerance. President Obama's election sent a message of hope and showed that the U.S. still had much to teach the world. ¶5. (C) Despite some tough questions from the delegation, the President remained gracious and friendly, even showing a willingness to broach the topic of the post-Compaore transition. When asked what plans, if any, the President had made to ensure that Burkina would remain stable after his departure from office, Compaore explained that "one had to have faith in the democratic institutions" and said that they would be the backbone of stability during the transition. (Note: Compaore did not indicate when that transition might actually occur. Speculation is that he will run again in ¶2010. End Note) -------------- Focus on economics and development programs -------------- ¶6. (C) While discussing the world economic crisis, Compaore mentioned that he was concerned about the impact it would have on Burkina Faso. For the moment at least, he said Burkina had not felt the impact too strongly but opined that the "worst was yet to come." He explained that last year Burkina had increased its overall cotton production by 50 percent (Note: this after a 2007 drop in production of 45 percent. End Note.),but that today he was concerned that nobody might actually want to buy that cotton, which could cause the collapse of the industry. (Comment: Burkina cotton growers have been very vocal about U.S. cotton subsidies. President Compaore recently wrote to Secretary Clinton requesting that the C-4's concerns about cotton subsidies be raised at the G-20 London Summit. End Comment.) ¶7. (C) Prime Minister Zongo addressed the development challenges and priorities for Burkina in the coming years. He said his top priority, with 80-85 percent of the Burkinabe population living in rural areas, is rural development. Zongo explained that "people need to know how to feed themselves. You cannot talk about security or democracy on an empty stomach." Zongo said he will focus on how to get agricultural production from rural areas to the markets and OUAGADOUGO 00000305 002 OF 002 how to empower the population, especially women and children. The Prime Minister also mentioned that he would look at other issues including land reform, and building democracy at the local/grassroots level. However, Zongo cautioned that he needed time to meet these challenges, and that his government would progress step-by-step in order to succeed. ¶8. (C) Water scarcity is a development impediment for Burkina Faso and Zongo explained that the Government has built a number of small dams along the Black Volta River to conserve water. Now the Government will teach local populations how to use that water efficiently for irrigation, agriculture, and cattle-rearing purposes. Through education and training, Zongo suggested that water management could be improved significantly in Burkina, helping to improve overall quality of life. ¶9. (C) The Prime Minister applauded programs like the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and told the delegation that through such initiatives the U.S.'s image in Burkina has improved. The U.S. is now perceived as being a more hands-on development partner, "much to the chagrin of European partners who no longer have a monopoly over this type of concrete aid." In particular, he commended MCC's participatory process. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Press coverage of the delegation's visit was very good. All national radio, TV, and print outlets interviewed the delegation after the Presidential meeting. Reporting focused on the strength of the bilateral relationship and the Codel's appreciation for positive developments in Burkina Faso. The positive public message magnified the delegation's beneficial visit across the nation. ¶11. (U) The 14 member Congressional delegation which started its week-long trip to Africa by visiting Burkina Faso, was comprised of House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman Adam Smith and four other Members of Congress: Representative Giffords (D-AZ),Representative Coopers (D-TN), Representative Scott (D-GA) and Representative Paulsen (R-MN). Note: Representative Smith's delegation did not clear this cable before departing Ouagadougou. End note. LAEUCHLI