US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA4128

UNCLAS BOGOTA 004128 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, ECON, PTER, SNAR, CO, PE 
SUBJECT: PERU'S PRESIDENT TOLEDO VISITS COLOMBIA 
 
 
1.  Summary: Border security and economic cooperation topped 
the agenda when Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo made a 
two-day visit to Colombia April 15-17.  Toledo signed a 
35-point Joint Declaration with President Alvaro Uribe.  The 
Declaration called for: cooperation and coordination between 
GOC and GOP teams in FTA negotiations with the U.S.; 
increased bilateral trade; and enhanced exchange of 
information and military cooperation along the border to 
combat narco-terrorism and arms trafficking.  The Declaration 
expressed Peru's support for Uribe's Democratic Security 
Policy, and reiterated Colombia's support for Peru's 
candidacy for the UN Security Council.  End summary. 
 
2.  President Alejandro Toledo made the first Peruvian state 
visit to Colombia in a decade.  The outcome was a 35 point 
Joint Declaration (emailed to WHA/AND) that reaffirmed Peru's 
support of President Uribe's Democratic Security Policy; 
reiterated Colombia's support for Peru's candidacy as a 
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2006-2007; 
and emphasized commerce, security, and development of the 
border area. 
 
International Financial Institutions Relations 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
3.  The Presidents agreed to call on the IMF to give more 
attention to regional concerns regarding public investment. 
They stressed the distinction between public investment and 
current expenditures, and requested that these should be 
treated differently, in accordance with the statement adopted 
by the March meeting of the Governors of the Inter-American 
Bank, in support of economic growth and social development. 
 
Teams Will Cooperate in Negotiating FTA with U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
4.  The Joint Declaration calls for cooperation between the 
two countries in negotiating FTAs with the U.S.  The GOC 
MFA's Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean 
subsequently explained this to mean information sharing. 
 
Border Security, Combating the Traffic in Drugs and Arms 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
5.  The countries will continue to share information 
regarding the traffic of arms and drugs across their border. 
The Presidents underscored the importance of the tripartite 
defense agreement between Brazil, Peru, and Colombia to 
combat crime along their riverine borders.  A joint 
Peru-Colombia commission on drugs will meet May 12-13 in 
Bogota to evaluate and develop joint methods to combat the 
traffic in drugs and chemical precursors.  The two countries 
will share information on alternative development and the 
GOC's program of civilian rangers to protect forests from 
illicit cultivation. 
 
An Amicable Visit 
----------------- 
 
6.  The GOC's coordinator for the visit noted that Toledo's 
formal statement of support for Uribe's Democratic Security 
Policy set the tone for an amicable visit.  The Joint 
Declaration made no mention of recent media reports that the 
FARC is buying armaments from Peruvian Army arsenals. 
Extradition between the two countries was not included in the 
Declaration, but an informal agreement was reached to update 
and implement existing extradition agreements. 
WOOD