VZCZCXRO4299
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1721 2541618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111618Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9917
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0106
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 0751
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 5072
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7115

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001721 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO ENERGY DEPT (M CLAPPER - DOE/NE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG TRGY KNNP IAEA BR
SUBJECT:  Brazil to Attend Vienna Global Nuclear Energy Partnership 
Meeting 
 
REF:  (A) STATE 114102, (B) STATE 118280, (B) STATE 121724 
 
¶1.  (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR 
INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On August 28, 2007, ESTH Counselor and ESTH Officer met 
with Minister Santiago Mourao and Counselor Luiz Fernando Galvao of 
the Ministry of External Relations (MRE) Division of Disarmament and 
Sensitive Technologies to discuss REFTELS A and B.  Mourao said that 
the Government of Brazil (GOB) will attend the September 16 Global 
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) meeting in Vienna, but they do not 
yet know the composition of their delegation.  According to Mourao, 
however, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim will not attend due to other 
commitments.  Mourao added that at this time, the GOB was not ready 
to sign the GNEP Statement of Principles. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Mourao commented that the GOB regards GNEP as an 
"interesting initiative" with an "ambitious agenda."  He added that 
in this regard, the GOB and USG are already working on several 
related issues, such as next generation reactors and fuel access. 
Generally speaking, he thought that the GOB and USG hold convergent 
views on nuclear issues.  Mourao did not preclude the possibility of 
the GOB being prepared to sign the Principles at the GNEP meeting in 
Vienna, but explained that they remain under an interagency review 
by the GOB.  Even so, he added that he had personally reviewed them 
and did not see issues with the language that would be harmful to 
the GOB. (Comment:  Due to the uncertainty reflected in Mourao's 
comments and the sluggish GOB beaurocracy it does not appear likely 
that the GOB sign the Principles in Vienna. End Comment). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) GOB points of contact on GNEP issues are Santiago Mourao 
(smourao@mre.gov.br, 55 61 3411 8660) and Luis Galvao 
(abbott@mre.gov.br, 55 61 3411 8660).  (Comment: Mourao highlighted 
what is a common theme among most MRE officials:  the MRE takes the 
lead on matters of external foreign policy.  As such, he requested 
that his office be the main point of contact for the USG, not the 
Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).  He pointed out that in this 
case, MME is in the business of selling energy, not regulating its 
production and administering safety measures, etc. End Comment). 
 
¶5.  (U) Post will continue to communicate with GOB as requested to 
facilitate participation/communication on this issue. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Per REFTEL C, Post delivered the information about meeting 
logistics and security requirements to Galvao, who would disseminate 
it as needed within the GoB. 
 
SOBEL