US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA1078

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 001078 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, ECON, CO 
SUBJECT: DCM MEETS WITH VICE-MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Milton K. Drucker 
for reason 1.4 (b). 
 
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DCM Begins Series of Regular Meeting with MFA Vice-Minister 
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1. (C) On January 31, DCM met with GOC Vice-Minister of 
Foreign Affairs Camilo Reyes.  Reyes had asked for the 
meeting as the first of what he hopes will be regular monthly 
meetings to discuss key bilateral issues and areas of mutual 
concern.  In response to questions from the DCM, Reyes 
touched on three main issues: (1) Venezuela, (2) President 
Uribe's upcoming trip to Europe, and (3) GOC negotiations 
with the G-24 over a joint declaration to be issued in 
Cartagena on February 4. 
 
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Venezuela 
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2. (C) Reyes observed that the public standoff with Venezuela 
appeared to be nearing its end, and commended the Peruvian 
Foreign Minister and the Colombian diplomatic mission in 
Havana for their contributions to defusing tensions.  Regular 
discussions by phone with Venezuela's Vice-Minister of 
Foreign Affairs and the January 27 face-to-face meeting 
between the Colombian and Venezuelan Foreign Ministers in 
Lima had facilitated a private rapprochement that preceded 
recent conciliatory statements by the GOC and GOV and set the 
groundwork for Uribe's February 3 visit to Venezuela.  Reyes 
said Colombian commerce with Venezuela -- which amounts to 
USD 2.5 billion a year, excluding petroleum -- should have 
restarted already.  Reyes noted that the proposed gas 
pipeline between the Colombian department of La Guajira and 
the Venezuelan port of Maracaibo did not have much traction, 
although he noted that the Colombian Ministry of Mines and 
Energy continued to consider it important. 
 
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Uribe's Upcoming Visit to Europe 
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3. (C) Reyes said President Uribe's February 7-11 trip to 
Europe would include visits to Brussels (EU), Paris, and 
Madrid.  According to Reyes, although the GOC enjoys good 
relations with the current administrations in France and 
Madrid -- what Colombians refer as "gobiernos" -- the 
Government must reduce the ignorance and misunderstanding of 
Colombia that prevails throughout the legislatures, judicial 
systems, and civil society of these nations.  Reyes noted 
President Uribe's conviction that cooperation between 
Colombia and the EU and its individual members states could 
be much better.  Specifically, Uribe plans to propose that 
the EU consider entering into an association compact with the 
Andean Community, which would improve commercial 
opportunities for Colombia and other Andean nations.  Reyes 
also noted the problems the new European tariff on "dollar" 
bananas would cause if left unchanged. 
 
4. (C) In Spain, where Uribe will make an official state 
visit, the President will emphasize improvements in 
Colombia's internal situation resulting from the successful 
implementation of the Democratic Security Policy.  Reyes 
emphasized that Spain is Colombia's greatest European ally in 
multilateral institutions, and that Uribe would attempt to 
use Spain to make inroads with the EU. 
 
5. (C) Uribe will meet in Paris with French President Chirac. 
 Reyes noted that the Uribe Administration has good relations 
with France, Colombia's largest European direct foreign 
investor.  However, bilateral relations have been severely 
complicated by the Ingrid Betancourt situation, which has 
become an issue of internal political importance in France, 
thereby distorting and conditioning the bilateral 
relationship. 
 
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G-24 
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6. (C) Reyes spoke with pride about the GOC's success in 
negotiating with representatives of the G-24 a satisfactory 
joint declaration for the February 2-4 international donor's 
conference in Cartagena.  He observed, however, that the 
declaration's negotiation was complicated by the extreme 
politicization of the G-24 forum and the excessive influence 
within the G-24 process of local NGOs hostile to Uribe and 
his policies. 
 
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Upcoming Visits to Colombia 
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7. (SBU) DCM concluded the meeting by briefing Reyes on 
several important U.S. visits to Colombia scheduled for the 
next few weeks, including the February 13-15 visit of Under 
Secretary Grossman and the February 20-23 visit of Florida 
 
SIPDIS 
Governor Jeb Bush with a commercial delegation representing 
at least 45 companies. 
WOOD