US embassy cable - 05CALGARY577

UNCLAS CALGARY 000577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN, EB/ESC/ISC, EB/EPPD 
 
USDOE FOR IA (DEVITO, PUMPHREY, DEUTSCH) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG, EPET, ETRD, PGOV, XM, CA 
SUBJECT: MEXICAN PRESIDENT DRUMS UP OILPATCH INVESTMENT DURING 
CALGARY VISIT 
 
1. (SBU) Calgary was the first stop on Mexican President Vicente 
Fox's whirlwind tour of Western Canada on Thursday, September 
29th.  The trip was designed to "strengthen commercial, 
political and educational ties between Western Canada and 
Mexico".  During his one-day visit to Calgary, President Fox, 
focused primarily on meeting with officials in Alberta's 
oilpatch, but also met with other political leaders, 
representatives from local Mexican communities, and the media. 
This was President Fox's first visit to Calgary.  His last trip 
to Canada was to Ottawa in October 2004. 
 
2. (SBU) The centerpiece of the Mexican President's Calgary 
visit was a luncheon hosted by Alberta Intergovernmental and 
International Relations Minister Ed Stelmach, who represented 
Premier Ralph Klein. The Alberta Premier was in South Africa 
attending the World Petroleum Congress.  Officials from 
Alberta's energy, agricultural and education sectors attended 
the luncheon, as well as Fox's entourage of 30 Mexican business 
leaders.  President Fox used the luncheon as a forum to 
encourage investment in Pemex, Mexico's state-owned energy 
company, saying the Mexican Government has made huge strides in 
the past five years in fighting corruption and improving 
stability.  President Fox also reiterated his support for NAFTA, 
presenting his plan for expanding the organization's role, 
including a new provision for energy.  Since the commencement of 
NAFTA, Alberta-Mexico trade has quadrupled to C$15.73 billion. 
As an aside, President Fox stayed neutral on the current 
softwood lumber "trade war" between the United States and 
Canada, adding that he regrets "any unilateral decision that 
fails to abide by the decisions of the arbitration panels where 
trade differences are discussed and aired". 
 
3. (SBU) The luncheon was followed by a conference held at the 
University of Calgary, where President Fox discussed new oil 
exploration and recovery techniques with university researchers. 
 The meeting was marred just hours before President Fox's 
arrival, when two mail workers were hospitalized for injuries 
sustained when a suspicious package was opened, releasing an 
unknown substance into the air.  It was unknown whether the 
incident was related to President Fox's visit.  There was also a 
small protest outside the university, organized by the parents 
of a Calgary college student who was murdered while enrolled in 
a Mexican exchange program.  The student's mother, Ms. Cher 
Ewing, told reporters she was attempting to force President Fox 
to better enforce organized crime statutes. 
 
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Comment 
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4. (SBU) The primary focus of President Fox's visit to Alberta 
was to lay the groundwork for future natural gas deals with 
resource rich Alberta.  The Mexican President, who has attempted 
to visit Alberta several times over the last five years, has 
repeatedly warned of the need for a diversification of Mexican 
energy resources.  His visit, while welcomed by members of the 
oilpatch, highlighted current energy problems facing the Mexican 
government.  Local energy analysts believe the President's plans 
for reform are a step in the right direction, but hold out 
little hope that the President's efforts to allow for a larger 
role for private investment in cash-strapped Pemex will come to 
fruition any time soon. 
 
5. (SBU) That said, the Mexican Trade Consul in Calgary, who 
accompanied President Fox to all of his Calgary meetings, told 
Econ Assistant that the President's message was well received 
and there continues to be much interest in investing in Mexico's 
energy sector.  The Trade Consul said it is "painful" to let 
Mexico's resources sit in the ground if oil belongs to all 
Mexicans." He opined that it would not be necessary to reopen 
the Mexican Constitution to implement the kind of reform that 
President Fox is aiming toward.  He claims that "interpretation" 
of certain wording within the Mexican Constitution will play an 
important role in determining how "private" investment rather 
than "foreign" investment could occur in Mexico.  In any event, 
the Consul suggested that President Fox plans to announce such 
reform before the end of the year. 
 
 
 
 
 
NOWLAN