US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA467

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000467 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/EPSC, EB/TPP, INR/B AND DRL/IL 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAM 
TREASURY FOR DDOUGLASS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ECON, PGOV, HO 
SUBJECT: CABEI Request for Meeting with Secretary Snow 
 
1. This is an action request; please see para 3. 
 
2. On February 25, Post received the following letter from 
the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), 
requesting a meeting between CABEI Executive President Harry 
Brautigam and Secretary of Treasury Snow on the margins of 
the upcoming Inter American Development Bank Board of 
Governors meeting, on April 10-12 in Okinawa, Japan.  Text 
of the letter follows in para 4.  Post will fax original of 
the letter to WHA/CEN. 
 
3. Action requested:  Post requests that Department pass the 
request to appropriate offices in the Department of Treasury 
and advise on the response to be delivered to CABEI. 
 
4. Begin text: 
 
February 15, 2005 
 
Your Excellency: 
 
I have the honor of addressing Your Excellency on occasion 
of the upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors of the 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), due to take place on 
April 10-12 in Okinawa, Japan. 
 
Central America is now an emerging market with a prosperous 
outlook.  Regional GDP reached $72.0 billion in 2004 with 
stable macroeconomic indicators and positive expectations of 
the ratification of a Free Trade Agreement with the United 
States of America later this year.  A key source of 
multilateral funding to this region has come from the 
Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), with 
total assets of $3.5 billion, a capital base of $1.3 billion 
and yearly disbursements of $1.1 billion. 
 
CABEI has undergone important achievements during 2004 which 
I would like to share with you and explore areas for mutual 
collaboration to support our founding member countries 
achieve the Millennium Development Goals established by the 
United Nations in 2000. For this purpose we kindly ask you 
for an appointment with the Executive President of CABEI, 
Mr. Harry E. Brautigam and myself, during your stay in 
Okinawa at the most convenient time and date for your 
agenda. 
 
Should you need additional information, please feel free to 
contact me, at amb@bcie.org, telephone number (504) 240-2264 
and fax (504) 240-2113. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
/s/ 
 
Alfonso Martnez-Bordi 
Head of the Institutional Relations Department 
 
His Excellency 
The Honorable 
John W. Snow 
Secretary of Treasury 
 
SIPDIS 
United States 
 
End text 
 
Palmer