VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0642 0682317
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 092317Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9414
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1005
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000642 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/EPSC, EB/TPP/ABT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID NU VE
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA - VENEZUELA LETTER OF INTENT ON A 
"PEOPLES NETWORK" FOR FOOD MARKETING 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  As part of a series of Bolivarian 
Alternative agreements between Nicaraguan and Venezuela 
signed on January 11, 2007, the President of the Venezuelan 
Corporation for Food Marketing (MERCAL) and the President of 
Cooperative of Agricultural Services of Nicaragua 
(NICARAOCOOP) signed a Letter of Intent on creating a 
"peoples network" for marketing food.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) A Letter of Intent between the La Empresa 
Cooperativa de Servicios Agropecuarios Nicarao, R.L. 
(NICARAOCOOP) and Mercados de Alimentos (MERCAL, SA) was one 
of a series of Thirteen commitments with Venezuela negotiated 
by the Ortega government before it came to power on January 
10, 2007.  NICARAOCOOP President Moises Lopoez Vizuete and 
MERCAL President Felix Osorio Guzman signed the letter on 
January 11, 2007, the substance of which, along with the 
other commitments, was kept from the public for weeks, 
although the Embassy managed to obtain an unsigned copy. 
This cable reports on the substance of this particular Letter 
of Intent. 
 
Preambular Language 
------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Relatively extensive preambular language in the 
letter states that the two parties are motivated by the will 
to form closer ties of friendship and brotherhood between the 
two countries and their people.  The fight against poverty 
and the social exclusion, as a fundamental priority, requires 
joint plans and projects for the benefit of both countries. 
The parties are determined to deepen cooperative relations as 
well as Latin American and Caribbean social and economic 
integration with a view to encouraging political integration 
as a strategic option.  Both parties are committed to create 
material and social conditions to fulfill millennium goals, 
and to deepening strategic alliances and economic 
complementarity in the framework of promoting fair trade and 
"multipolarity."  Both parties reaffirm their will to 
strengthen integration, understanding that it is a gradual 
and progressive process through which nations voluntarily 
take joint decisions.  This language is the same that which 
is found in the Letter of Intent between LA CASA and ENABAS 
concerning Nicaragua's food supply system (septel). 
 
Intentions 
---------- 
¶4. (SBU) The substance of the letter involves MERCAL sending 
a technical commission to Nicaragua to advise NICARAOCOOP on 
the structure, logistics, and operations to implement a 
"peoples network" for the marketing of agricultural products. 
 The parties pledge to cooperate on this technical advisory, 
and to negotiate the terms of technical cooperation in this 
area. 
 
Duration and Termination 
------------------------ 
¶5. (SBU) The letter shall be effective for one year from the 
date of signature, unless the parties decide in writing to 
extend or terminate it.  Termination will become effective 
thirty days thereafter, but not affect ongoing activities, 
programs, or projects unless so stated by the parties. 
TRIVELLI