ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON'S MEETING WITH SPANISH VICE

UNCLAS MADRID 000181 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W, OSD FOR DASD HUDDLESTON, NSC FOR GAVIN, LONDON FOR POL(LORD),PARIS FOR POL(BAIN AND KANEDA),ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SP SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON'S MEETING WITH SPANISH VICE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ANGEL LOSSADA ¶1. Summary. On January 28, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, met with Spanish Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Angel Lossada, on bi-lateral issues related to Africa. Lossada described Spanish interests and concerns in West Africa; requested U.S. views on a proposed conference on Somalia; concurred with maintaining UN peacekeepers in the Congo; and urged increased U.S.-Spanish cooperation on narcotics, terrorism, and trafficking in persons. Carson stressed the importance of judicial action against pirates and drug traffickers, advised that a possible conference on Somalia required careful advanced planning among all participants, and welcomed increased bi-lateral cooperation on shared concerns throughout the continent. End Summary. ¶2. Following the January 28 EU-U.S. Political Dialogue Meeting on African Issues in Madrid, Assistant Secretary Carson conferred with Vice Minister Lossada on bi-lateral issues. Lossada explained that Spain's foreign policy had not been directed toward Western Africa until recently. Now, he said, Spain recognized West Africa as its neighbor and as the origin of numerous problems impacting the Spanish people. He noted the flow of narcotics, illegal immigration, trafficking in persons, and terrorism passing from the Sahel region to Spain and the rest of Europe. Spain had responded by opening several Spanish diplomatic missions in the region and had revised its African Plan, first developed in 2004. ¶3. Assistant Secretary Carson acknowledged a common alliance between the U.S. and Spain on West Africa and the need to address global issues there. He referred in particular to the flow of narcotics from Central America to the Gulf of Guinea and other West African ports, stating that the same people who have been pushing drugs to the U.S. were now transporting narcotics to Europe through West Africa. Carson identified Ghana and Sierra Leon as two countries that had cooperated in arresting drug traffickers and extraditing them to the U.S. to face justice. ¶4. Lossada called the Sahel a vacuum where terrorism and organized crime went largely unchecked due to the lack of will and capacity among African nations to address security issues. He said that cooperation among African nations was not working and that regional integration was not taking place. Nevertheless, Lossada felt that there had been some progress on illegal immigration resulting from repatriation agreements and tighter border controls with certain African nations. He stressed the need for better mechanisms to control legal flows of immigrants and linkages between immigration and the labor market. Repatriations, he argued, had dissuaded potential illegal immigrants from risking their lives at sea and discouraged mafias engaged in trafficking. ¶5. Lossada asked for U.S. views on a possible conference on Somalia. Assistant Secretary Carson responded that the U.S. is heavily committed in Somalia and believes more must be done to support President Sharif and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). However, Carson advised that any such conference required extensive prior planning, advance discussions with all participants, and determination of objectives to ensure that impetus is given to achieving strategic goals. He pointed out that all players needed to be contacted, including key Arab states, the UN, and African states so that the conference becomes something more than a reaffirmation of previous unfulfilled commitments. In the past, he said, many players spoke nicely and pledged funding, but did not follow up with financial or public support. ¶6. Lossada readily concurred with Assistant Secretary Carson, stating that careful planning is critical. He maintained that a lack of momentum surrounds the TFG which must enlarge its territorial influence to survive. It is time, he said, to change the situation. Spain wants donors to deliver on previous financial pledges so that trained security forces can get paid. He opined that piracy will continue as long as the TFG lacks credibility and pirates receive enormous sums of ransom money. Lossada said that the international community needed to refocus on Somalia. Lossada underscored that Spain would not call a conference by itself, but rather he sought U.S. views on whether the timing is right for Spain to encourage the UN to host a conference on Somalia. ¶7. Assistant Secretary Carson reiterated that the concept of a conference could work, as long as it is well planned to achieve the desired outcome. He said that many Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states stand on the sidelines and that some African states could be far more helpful. Carson cautioned against a Brussels - type conference where countries make pledges and then don't deliver. ¶8. Referring to the EU-U.S. Political Dialogue, Assistant Secretary Carson reported general agreement that UN peacekeepers (MONUC) should not be precipitously withdrawn from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Carson said that a new mandate for the peacekeepers could better define their role. However, a sudden withdrawal of these forces would likely result in an explosion of violence in eastern Congo, particularly against women. Carson warned that President Kabila had political motives for ending the UN peacekeeping presence, but such a move would be destabilizing. On a brighter note, Carson noted improved relations between Kinshasa and Kigali. ¶9. Lossada acknowledged improved relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, but fully concurred in maintaining UN peacekeepers in the Congo. He said that MONUC is essential to avoid the spread of violence from the eastern Congo to the rest of the country. ¶10. In summing up, Lossada said there had been a significant change in Spain's thinking about West Africa. He saw both a threat and an opportunity stemming from insecurity in the region. As a result of illegal immigration and drug trafficking in West Africa, Spain had opened new diplomatic missions, increased development assistance, established stronger ties to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),and stepped up cooperation with Ministers of the Interior in the region. Spain, he said, wanted to work more intensely with the EU, Portugal, France and others on global issues in West Africa such as poverty, illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Lossada said Spain was acting in its own self interest as a matter of national security and he welcomed increased cooperation with the United States in West Africa. ¶11. Assistant Secretary Carson thanked Lossada for his views and referred to Secretary Clinton's strong emphasis on working together with European partners and allies. Carson said that we are stronger when we work together on shared ideas. SOLOMONT