US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA10062

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 010062 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, KSUM, CO, OAS 
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: WANTS CONSENSUS BUT NEEDS SECURITY 
LANGUAGE AT SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS 
 
REF: A. STATE 195226 
     B. STATE 195518 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Jeffrey DeLaurentis. 
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarches to Summit of the 
Americas Coordinator Francisco Gonzalez on October 24. 
Gonzalez agreed that much progress was made at the October 
3-7 SIRG, but that more negotiation is needed before the 
Summit Declaration can be signed.  He was confident, however, 
that agreement could be reached.  Gonzalez said Colombia is 
willing to be flexible on many issues but would hesitate to 
remove language that refers to the importance of fighting 
narcotics trafficking and/or terrorism in the Declaration or 
Plan of Action.  Gonzalez was skeptical that the draft Joint 
Commercial/Labor Declaration could be negotiated and signed 
during the Summit and was concerned that this effort would 
deflect attention away from other, unresolved issues. 
Gonzalez confirmed the participation of President Uribe and 
Foreign Minister Barco, as well as other ministers, at the 
Summit. End Summary. 
 
------------------------- 
GOC Looking for Consensus 
------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarches to Summit of the 
Americas Coordinator Gonzalez on October 24.  Gonzalez agreed 
that much progress was made at the October 3-7 SIRG in 
Washington, and that the draft declaration still needs more 
positive, action-oriented language before it can be signed. 
Gonzalez was confident, however, all sides would eventually 
reach agreement and stressed Colombia's goal to act as a 
consensus maker.  He also said Colombia would not insist on 
language that was not essential and would encourage others to 
do the same.  He noted specifically that language suggested 
by Venezuela about the relationship between jobs and growth 
in the United States in the 1990s was superfluous, but said 
it was difficult to fight with the Venezuelans when their 
data came from the IDB.  He suggested that all parties be 
prepared to negotiate on Saturday, November 5 - a day not 
currently scheduled for any meetings - if necessary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Language on Terrorism and Narcotics Important to GOC 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
3.  (C) Gonzalez said President Uribe intended to make a 
speech at the Summit covering two issues of importance to 
Colombia: 1) trade as an critical factor for job creation; 
and 2) the necessity of sustaining a "climate of security" to 
facilitate continued economic growth.  For Colombia, a 
"climate of security" cannot be achieved without appropriate 
attention to fighting narcotics trafficking and terrorism. 
For this reason, Colombia would hesitate to eliminate 
completely current paragraph 26 on the "institutional 
framework for decent work" (Ref A) because the only 
references to fighting narcotics trafficking and terrorism 
are in this paragraph.  Similarly, Colombia, while sharing 
U.S. concerns about the Plan of Action, does not want the 
Plan to be shortened if references to narcotics trafficking 
or terrorism will be eliminated. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Uncertainty on Stand-Alone Declarations 
--------------------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) Gonzalez, who had already received a copy of the 
draft Joint Commercial/Labor Declaration from the Colombian 
OAS mission in Washington, expressed concerns about the 
document.  While he believes the GOC would appreciate the 
opportunity to discuss the issues raised in the draft at the 
proposed follow-on Labor/Commerce Ministerial in 2006, he 
fears that this draft statement will deflect attention away 
from the Summit Declaration and the Plan of Action.  He does 
not think that ministers will have enough time to negotiate 
and sign this draft declaration during the Summit.  Gonzalez 
did not have an immediate response to the draft Statement on 
the Doha Development Round or the draft Statement on 
Democracies in Transition.  Post will report response septel. 
 
--------------------- 
GOC Summit Delegation 
--------------------- 
 
5.  (U) Gonzalez confirmed the composition of the Colombian 
official delegation to the Summit: President Alvaro Uribe, 
Foreign Minister Carolina Barco, Commerce Minister Jorge 
Botero, Minister of Social Protection Diego Palacio, 
Colombian Ambassador to the OAS Alvaro Tirado, Colombian 
Ambassador to Argentina Rodrigo Holguin and MFA Vice Minister 
Camilo Reyes.  Gonzalez, as well as other support staff, will 
also attend. 
WOOD