US embassy cable - 05LIMA4848

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 004848 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/AND, WHA/EPSC, EB/CIP - TCARNEGIE/WAYALA 
COMMERCE FOR 4331/MAC/WH/MCAMERON 
COMMERCE FOR OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY/KFERGUESON 
USTR FOR KSCHAGRIN/JMCHALE 
FCC INTERNATIONAL BUREAU FOR ETALAGA 
AID FOR BRENDA FISHER/NOREEN JANUS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS, ETRD, EINV, ECON, PE 
SUBJECT: LAUNCHING PHASE II OF THE DIGITAL FREEDOM 
INITIATIVE 
 
REF: LIMA 3115 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary.  The Ambassador and Peruvian Minister of 
Production David Lemor signed a Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU) on November 8 to launch Phase II of the Digital 
Freedom Initiative (DFI) as well as underscore the GOP's 
renewed interest in the program.  Both the Minister and the 
Ambassador pledged to improve information sharing and 
cooperation among the two governments and the private 
sector.  Phase II will further promote economic development 
through the dissemination of information and communications 
technology to entrepreneurs and small businesses.  The MOU 
established a Working Group of nine officials - two from the 
USG, two from the GOP, and five from the private sector. 
The Working Group, which includes the General Managers of 
Intel, Cisco, Motorola, Voxiva and Hewlett Packard, will 
meet December 7 to discuss next steps and how to best 
implement future DFI programs in Peru.  The Working Group 
will also brief the American and Lima Chambers of Commerce 
to obtain additional private sector support.  End Summary. 
 
Launching DFI Phase II 
---------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Although Peru became a participant in the Digital 
Freedom Initiative in 2003, the Peruvian Government did not 
take an active role in implementation of the DFI (reftel). 
Only recently has the GOP focused on this program, due in 
large part to the encouragement of U.S. officials during 
APEC conferences in 2005.  During the past five months, we 
have met with officials from the Ministry of Production, the 
GOP's newly-appointed lead agency for DFI issues, to support 
the GOP's renewed interest in promoting economic growth 
through the transfer to and use of information and 
communication technology (ICT) by entrepreneurs and small 
businesses.  While GOP agencies discussed the possibility of 
working with the Embassy and the private sector to promote 
the DFI, the Ministry of Production requested that the two 
governments sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to make 
information sharing and cooperation more official. 
 
3.  (U) Pleased with the GOP's renewed interest in the DFI, 
we moved forward with preparations for the MOU.  On November 
8, Ambassador Struble and Minister of Production David Lemor 
signed the MOU, which not only established a framework for 
collaboration between the USG and the GOP but also launched 
Phase II of the DFI.  The MOU established a DFI Working 
Group, to consist of nine persons, which will meet monthly 
to discuss the current state of play of the DFI and plan 
future programs and their implementation.  (Note: We sent 
the original documents to L/T.  Scanned copies have been 
sent to WHA/AND and EB/CIP for their records.  End Note.) 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
4.  (SBU) We met with Karin Talavara, advisor to the Vice 
Minister of Industry, and several other Ministry of 
Production officials on November 9 to discuss implementation 
of the MOU.  During the meeting, we established the DFI 
Working Group - members include two Embassy officials, Vice 
Minister of Industry Antonio Castillo, Vice Minister of 
Communications Juan Pacheco, and the Peruvian General 
Managers of Cisco, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Voxiva and 
Motorola.  The private sector participants were selected 
using three criteria: the companies are members of the DFI 
Business Roundable; the companies have offices in Peru; and 
the companies are currently working on DFI-related projects 
in Peru.  The DFI Working Group will meet on December 7 to 
determine next steps, establish a list of incentives for 
potential stakeholders, and discuss ongoing and future 
projects. 
 
5.  (SBU) The Working Group intends to establish several 
smaller sub-groups that will focus on issues including 
Software, Telecommunications, Hardware, E-Commerce/E- 
Government, and Regulations.  We plan on inviting key GOP 
officials from Osiptel (the Peruvian Telecommunications 
Regulator) and the E-Government program, as well as private 
sector representatives and Department of Commerce E-Business 
fellows, to work more closely on these issues.  Several GOP 
agencies, including Osiptel and the Ministry of Transport 
and Communications recently received Trade and Development 
Agency (TDA) grants for telecommunications activities and 
regulation; by inviting these organizations to participate 
in the DFI, they will be able to promote DFI 
telecommunications activities within the scope of the TDA 
grants. 
 
6. (SBU) After the December 7 meeting, the DFI Working Group 
will meet with the American Chamber of Commerce and the Lima 
Chamber of Commerce to ascertain interest on the part of 
American or Peruvian companies to participate in the DFI and 
DFI-related activities throughout Peru.  The Working Group, 
in the next few months, will also establish a local DFI 
webpage, to be managed by Voxiva, with links to activities 
planned by each of the sub-groups.  Local and American 
companies interested in participating in the DFI could use 
the webpage as a tool to determine their level of 
involvement. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  (SBU) The signing of the MOU has injected new life into 
the DFI program in Peru - a program that previously had 
minimal GOP interest.  The Ministry of Production, working 
with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and other 
government stakeholders, appears not only ready but able to 
implement DFI programs, as witnessed by their desire to 
discuss the immediate implementation of the MOU.  During the 
signing ceremony, several U.S. companies, including 
Microsoft and Nextel, approached us to inquire about the 
possibility of participating in future DFI programs as part 
of their social corporate responsibility programs in Peru. 
We believe that by working with the GOP and the private 
sector, we can not only better disseminate information and 
communications technology to local entrepreneurs and small 
businesses but also teach them how to use the technology to 
promote economic development. 
 
STRUBLE