ECUADOR'S GOALS AT THE 2009 SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000244

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL KSUM EC CU
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S GOALS AT THE 2009 SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
(C-AL9-00153)

REF: A. STATE 20677

B. QUITO 160

Classifie...


id: 201034
date: 4/6/2009 23:57
refid: 09QUITO244
origin: Embassy Quito
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 09QUITO160|09STATE20677
header:
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0238
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8086
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4138
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3491
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR LIMA 3142
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4251
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 2278
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL


-------------- header ends --------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000244

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL KSUM EC CU
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S GOALS AT THE 2009 SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
(C-AL9-00153)

REF: A. STATE 20677

B. QUITO 160

Classified By: Ambassador Heather M. Hodges for Reasons 1.4 (b&d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. The GOE's focus for the April 17-19 Summit
of the Americas has included seeking a one-on-one meeting
between the presidents. One issue that Ecuador would want to
stress during the Summit is the financial crisis. Other
issues are currently being defined by the Foreign Minister's
office. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Immediately prior to an April 2 videoconference with
Ambassador John Maisto, MFA Director General for North
America Ambassador Juan Salazar reiterated the GOE's request
for a bilateral meeting with President Obama at the Summit.
He noted that President Correa already had bilateral meetings
arranged with his counterparts in several countries,
including Mexico and probably Canada. He added that a
bilateral meeting with POTUS could be brief, but would be
very beneficial and would enable the two presidents to
establish a bilateral agenda. This echoes the reasoning we
heard from the GOE on other occasions, most notably in Under
Secretary Orbe's March 4 meeting with the Ambassador (Ref B).


3. (C) MFA Multilateral Affairs' Alternate Coordinator of
Summits Marjorie Ulloa also attended the April 2
videoconference and told us after the meeting that the GOE
generally supported the Summit's themes and the current draft
Summit Declaration. She noted, however, that the GOE did not
believe that the current financial crisis would receive
sufficient attention at the Summit. She added that the draft
Summit Declaration only included one small paragraph on the
subject that did little to address the issue.


4. (C) Ulloa said on April 2 that that the two issues likely
to be addressed in President Correa's remarks would be the
financial crisis and migration (likely meaning migrants'
rights),but then told PolOff on April 6 that only the
financial crisis issue remained certain. She added that the
drafting of Correa's remarks had been transferred to the
Minister's office and that she was no longer sure what would
be raised. When asked if Ecuador would mention Cuba, she
said that the "'primer ministro cubano' during his visit to
Quito" had requested that the GOE not raise the embargo
against Cuba because it was a bilateral issue that would be
dealt with best directly with the U.S. She noted, however,
that she could not say for sure whether Correa would bring up
the issue as the decision would be handled by the Presidency,
not the MFA. Regarding biofuels, Ulloa commented that while
Ecuador would support the initiative included in the draft
Declaration, this would not be important for the GOE at the
upcoming Summit.

HODGES

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