U/S OTERO,S SEPTEMBER 23 MEETING WITH BOLIVIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 100988 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR BL SUBJECT: U/S OTERO,S SEPTEMBER 23 MEETING WITH BOLIVIA FOREIGN MINISTER CHOQUEHUANCA Classified By: U/S Maria Otero (G). Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. Classified by U/S Maria Otero (G). Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶2. (U) September 23, 2009; 11:00; New York, USA. ¶3. (U) Participants: U.S. U/S Maria Otero WHA A/S Thomas Shannon Laura Pena Barbara Rocha (Notetaker) Bolivia Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca UN Charge Pablo Solon ¶4. (C) SUMMARY. Under Secretary Otero reaffirmed Secretary Clinton,s commitment to improve relations with Bolivia, noting her own interest in finding ways to be helpful to the bilateral dialogue process. Foreign Minister Choquehuanca and Charge Solon expressed frustration with slow progress and the decisions on Andean Trade Preference Program (ATPA) and the narcotics certification. U/S Otero and A/S Shannon expressed disappointment at Bolivia,s decision to terminate USAID,s democracy programs. Both sides committed to setting a date for a second round of talks in Washington in the first half of October. END SUMMARY. -------------- BILATERAL DIALOGUE: SLOW AND DIFFICULT -------------- ¶5. (C) Under Secretary Otero opened the meeting by reaffirming Secretary Clinton,s commitment to improve relations with Bolivia and noting her own interest in finding ways to be helpful to the bilateral dialogue process, given her Bolivian background. ¶6. (C) Foreign Minister Choquehuanca stressed the importance of building mutual trust and said Bolivia would always be open to dialogue. He appreciated our first round of talks (held in May, in La Paz) as a first step in overcoming differences and establishing a relationship of mutual respect. He did complain there had been no progress since then, and that the decisions to remove Bolivia from the Andean Trade Preference program (ATPA) and to flunk Bolivia in the narcotics certification were not constructive. He noted Bolivia,s new alliances with Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay to combat drug trafficking and affirmed that, despite difficulties, they are ready for a second round of talks. Choquehuanca said the Bolivian government cancelled USAID democracy programs &en el marco del dialogo8 and that they look forward to discussing pending assistance issues and finalizing a bilateral framework agreement. ¶7. (C) U/S Otero welcomed their commitment to advancing the dialogue as &good news8 but expressed disappointment in Bolivia,s decision to terminate USAID democracy programs. ¶8. (C) Charge Solon said they feared a new &golpe8 to the dialogue process in December when ATPA legislation is renewed. He warned the consequences for the bilateral relashionship would be grave if Bolivia is not included. Solon said the clock is ticking, and if we do not move fast the dialogue will become increasingly difficult and the U.S. Congress will eventually put Bolivia in a category where it doesn,t belong. He said what they need from us is a concrete proposal on what steps we will take to advance the dialogue process. ¶9. (C) Solon recalled the advances of the first round of talks, especially how close we were in reaching agreement on principles to guide our development cooperation. Yet, from the four elements of their framework agreement proposal (political relations, development cooperation, counternarcotics, and trade) our counter-proposal was weakest in the area of development cooperation, a step backward. -------------- MOVING FORWARD -------------- STATE 00100988 002 OF 002 ¶10. (C) A/S Shannon noted that although we understand there may be another &golpe8 to the dialogue process in December, we are working with Congress to look at trade preferences more broadly. Noting that we face obstacles on both sides, A/S Shannon pointed out that our Congress sees the Bolivian government,s decision to expel parts of our mission and to terminate USAID democracy programs as punitive actions, and justifying engagement becomes an obstacle for us. To that end, it would be useful for us to know if we should expect further measures before December. ¶11. (C) Choquehuanca said what we need is to set a date and focus on it. Choquehuanca said the first half of October is preferable because Bolivia is hosting the ALBA summit October 16-17. A/S Shannon said we would present them with a set of potential dates by next week. -------------- WTO Health Services Commitments -------------- ¶12. (C) Finally, Charge Solon raised the WTO health services commitments issue pending in Geneva. He said no one opposes Bolivia,s withdrawal from the commitments except the United States. He asked for our assistance in resolving this issue in a satisfactory manner and avoiding arbitration. CLINTON