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C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000864 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EMBASSY VILNIUS FOR THOMAS P. KELLY 
EMBASSY GUATEMALA FOR ALEX FEATHERSTONE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AR MX BR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: FOREIGN MINISTER TAIANA ON 
ARGENTINA-MEXICO RELATIONS, KIRCHNER-LULA MEETING 
 
REF: BUENOS AIRES 00855 
 
Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for Reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY: On April 30, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana 
briefed Ambassador Wayne on his recent trip to, and Argentine 
relations with, Mexico, as well as President Kirchner's 
meeting with Brazilian President Lula Ignacio da Silva. 
Taiana, who accompanied First Lady Cristina Kirchner to 
Mexico City, said that relations with Mexico are better than 
ever, with trade increasing 400 percent in the last six 
years.  He also said that the meeting between Kirchner and 
Lula was positive, with both leaders spending several hours 
alone talking.  Taiana expressed concerns over the 
polarization of debate over biofuels and fossil fuels.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C)  On April 30, Ambassador Wayne and poloffs called on 
Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana to discuss some key points that 
might be raised during First Lady Senator Cristina Fernandez 
de Kirchner's May 3-4 trip to Washington.  The Ambassador 
highlighted the importance of supporting press freedom in 
Venezuela and raised the RCTV case; underscored USG concern 
over growing Venezuelan-Iranian ties; noted FBI's Interpol 
representative Tom Fuentes' visit to Buenos Aires and asked 
about next steps in the AMIA case; urged passage of 
counterterrorism finance legislation as the next step in 
Argentina's efforts to combat terrorism; urge passage of 
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) legislation; encouraged 
eventual Congressional approval of this week's UNITAS 
exercise; and asked about the status of MFA translation of 
the Civair accord (REFTEL).  Also in attendance from the 
Foreign Ministry was U/S for Political Affairs Vicente 
Espeche Gil. 
 
--------------------------- 
First Lady's Trip to Mexico 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  Taiana offered little comment on most points, but 
offered his impressions of his trip with First Lady Cristina 
Fernandez de Kirchner to Mexico.  Taiana said that President 
Kirchner has a good relationship with Mexican President 
Felipe Calderon, which is an improvement on relations with 
his predecessor Vicente Fox.  He indicated that Calderon 
"does not want NAFTA to separate Mexico from the rest of 
Latin America."  Taiana also added that the value of the 
Argentine-Mexican commercial relationship has increased 400 
percent between 2000 and 2006, mostly due to Argentina's 
increased exports of auto parts and cars to Mexico.  He said 
that Mexican investment in Argentina is very important, 
citing CTI telephone, FEMSA (a coca-coal distribution 
company), and Bimbo bread companies as major investors. 
Taiana explained that when CTI owner Carlos Slim invested in 
Argentina, he had one million subscribers; he now has over 
ten million customers.  Taiana said that Argentine firm 
Techint, an oil production equipment producer, is also an 
important investor in Mexico.  Taiana said that he thought 
Argentina ad Mexico could fruitfully develop the "strategic 
partnership" that their officials have been exploring. 
 
------------- 
Energy Summit 
------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Turning to a discussion of the April energy summit 
in Venezuela, Taiana expressed concern over what he called 
the polarization of debate over biofuels and fossil fuels. 
He said that Argentina is mostly interested in its own 
market, where gas production has increased while other energy 
sectors have not.  He said that Argentine reliance on natural 
gas is greater as a percentage than others in South America. 
He said that Argentina is looking at how to diversify its 
energy matrix, including nuclear, hydroelectric, and wind 
power, as well as biofuels.  Argentina is not planning to 
develop sugar-based biofuels, but is looking seriously at 
 
soy-based biofuels.  He noted that Argentine law already 
promotes the production of biodeisel and that a large amount 
of soy is cultivated in the area of Rio Parana that will be 
used to produce soy biodeisel.  In addition, colsa (canola) 
shows a lot of promise because one can obtain a greater among 
of oil from colsa than from soybeans.  Furthermore, colsa 
grows well in the winter, so it would not be necessary to 
displace the cultivation of wheat and other grains in favor 
of colsa.  Taiana said Argentina would remain focused on 
assuring its energy security through a mix of supply sources 
and types of energy. 
 
------------------------------ 
Lula-Kirchner Meeting Positive 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (C)  On Kirchner's April meeting with visiting President 
Lula, Taiana said both met in private for five hours and the 
visit was very positive.  He stressed that the two had never 
spoken for so long in private.  Taiana said that he had 
personally worked on setting up the meeting with his 
Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim for a month.  He said that 
both he and Amorim had hoped the two leaders together could 
meet in private to strengthen their relationship.  (COMMENT: 
Relations between the two presidents have been strained since 
Lula has taken an apparent step back from close ties with 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.  END COMMENT.)  Taiana said 
he had spoken with Kirchner, Lula, and First Lady Cristina 
Kirchner after the meeting, and all agreed it had gone well. 
He concluded by saying that the GOA should not let so much 
time pass before the two Presidents meet again to keep the 
positive momentum going. 
 
¶6.  (C)  COMMENT:  According to MFA contacts, Taiana is 
increasingly preoccupied with managing the Casa Rosada, which 
may help explain why he was more talkative about his trip to 
Mexico and President Kirchner's meeting with Brazilian 
President Ignacio Lula da Silva than most of the points 
raised in this meeting.  Taiana was energetic an upbeat in 
his description of improving Argentine relations with both 
Mexico and Brazil, but acknowledged that the GOA still needs 
to build on these relationships.  The positive outcome of 
both the Mexico trip and the Lula meeting may be good points 
to raise with Fernandez de Kirchner during her May 3 visit to 
Washington to attend a dinner hosted by the American Jewish 
Council.  We have been told that the MFA is increasingly 
interested in how Argentina can participate in the 
President's biofuels initiative, and the FM's observations on 
Argentina's biofuels potential may have been an effort to 
highlight its potential as a partner.  SEPTEL will report 
Ambassador's energy discussion with Planning Minister de 
Vido.  END COMMENT. 
WAYNE