VZCZCXRO6959
PP RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #1075/01 1171627
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271627Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9572
INFO RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 1869

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001075 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OTRA PREL SP
SUBJECT: LETTER TO THE SECRETARY FROM SPANISH FM MORATINOS 
RE COOPERATION IN AFRICA 
 
REF: MADRID 779 
 
On April 25, Post received from MFA's Africa desk a copy of a 
letter from Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos to the 
Secretary.  It is not clear to our contacts at the Ministry 
 
SIPDIS 
whether a signed original will be delivered.  Post has sent 
the letter to Spain desk via e-mail.  Spanish Vice President 
Fernandez de la Vega recently highlighted the importance of 
Africa for Spain as it combats illegal immigration and other 
transnational issues.  In their conversation on March 30, 
Ambassador Aguirre and Moratinos briefly noted that the US 
and Spain share common interests in Africa and this might be 
a fruitful area for cooperation (reftel).  We suspect this 
conversation is the genesis of this letter. 
 
An informal translation follows: 
 
MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND COOPERATION 
 
Madrid, April 17, 2006 
 
Ms. Condoleezza Rice 
Secretary of State 
 
SIPDIS 
United States of America 
WASHINGTON 
 
(handwritten) Dear Condi: 
 
I would like to share with you some thoughts about Africa and 
inform you of a number of initiatives that the Spanish 
Government is promoting in that region. In Spain there is 
growing awareness of the magnitude of the challenges that the 
continent faces, along with the emergence of a new, more 
encouraging reality, embodied by programs such as the New 
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the work of 
organizations such as the African Union, which warrant the 
support of the international community. I myself in a trip 
last December to several sub-Saharan countries, and in other 
previous trips, have been able to acquire a more precise 
understanding of the situation on the ground. 
 
Owing to its geographical and historical proximity, Spain is 
particularly sensitive to problems affecting Africa and is 
promoting specific responses that I think can enhance broader 
initiatives, such as the G-8's Plan for Africa, promoted to a 
large extent thanks to US leadership. 
 
In recent days, the media have given broad coverage to the 
desperate attempts of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa to 
reach Spanish shores and those of European countries at 
serious risk to their lives. We have, therefore, initiated an 
intense process of cooperation with Mauritania to deal with 
this problem. Our cooperation with Mauritania is linked with 
cooperation we have been involved in for some time with 
Morocco in relation to this same phenomenon, and both show 
that it is possible for European and African countries to 
reach agreement on operational mechanisms for collaboration 
in an area as complex as illegal immigration. 
 
In order to broaden and strengthen these mechanisms, Spain, 
together with Morocco and France, and with the support of the 
Commission of the European Union, is promoting a Euro-African 
Conference on Migration and Development, to be held in Rabat 
this July. We hope that the Conference, for which 
preparations are quite advanced, will establish practical 
systems of cooperation between the countries of origin, 
transit and destination of irregular migratory flows. The 
idea is to generate co-responsibility among all the affected 
countries to facilitate orderly management of such flows. 
 
The Rabat Conference is one of the initiatives on which Spain 
is currently working under its African policy.  We are also 
working on the following: 
 
- At the end of May, in collaboration with the United Nations 
Office on Drugs and Crime, a Ministerial Conference on 
Terrorism will take place in Madrid with the participation of 
Central and West African countries, mostly from the Sahel 
region. The objective is to adopt a Plan of Action for the 
region to improve and develop the legal and judicial 
framework for counterterrorism, and to identify technical 
assistance needs, an area in which Spain intends to 
substantially increase its contributions. 
 
- During this legislative period, Spain will increase its 
Official Development Aid (ODA) from 0.23% to 0.5% of GDP. 
Taking into account Spanish GDP growth, this amounts to an 
increase of over 100% in ODA over a four-year period. A 
substantial part of this growth will be devoted to Africa, 
whose percentage of total Spanish ODA will be substantially 
increased. 
 
 
MADRID 00001075  002 OF 002 
 
 
- Spain intends to make 150 troops available to the EU 
military operation to strengthen MONUC during the upcoming 
electoral process in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the 
Congo). Spain also has military observers stationed in other 
conflict zones on the continent, such as Ethiopia-Eritrea and 
Sudan. In the case of Sudan, we are studying ways to support 
the new UN operation that will continue the stabilization 
work initiated by AMIS. 
 
- The Vice President of the Spanish Government and the Prime 
Minister of Mozambique recently held a conference on gender 
issues in Africa in Maputo, which was attended by a large 
number of Spanish and African dignitaries. We intend to 
continue this mechanism in the future, because of the 
essential importance we give gender issues in Africa. 
 
- In 2008, Spain will hold the Zaragoza International 
Exposition, which will be devoted to the subject of water. 
Because of the importance to Africa of water issues, we are 
promoting a series of activities to promote full 
participation in the Expo by African countries, particularly 
the least developed. 
 
- This year a Casa Africa will be opened in the city of Las 
Palmas in the Canary Islands. Casa Africa will organize all 
types of activities relating to Africa and strengthen ties 
between Spain and our African neighbors. 
 
We expect to speak about these and other subjects this week 
with Alpha Omar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union 
Commission * where Spanish is an official language - when he 
arrives in Spain on an official visit. 
 
I am very aware of the priority the United States places on 
its relations with Africa, and the importance of the U.S. 
presence on that continent. I therefore think it would be 
very useful to strengthen the cooperation between our two 
countries on African matters. As allies, we must try to join 
efforts and collaborate fully in seeking solutions to the 
problems afflicting African countries. Spain, as a neighbor 
to Africa, cannot afford to act any other way. 
 
I therefore would propose that we initiate regular political 
consultations on African matters, in order to make greater 
coordination possible between our two countries in this field 
also. 
 
(handwritten) Convinced that we will be able to initiate this 
new type of consultations and with my cordial regards as 
always. 
 
Yours ever, 
 
(signature) Miguel 
Miguel Angel Moratinos 
FITZPATRICK