VZCZCXRO0230
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRO #1993/01 2611013
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181013Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9017
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY IMMEDIATE 0310
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT IMMEDIATE 0304
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK IMMEDIATE 0160
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE IMMEDIATE 0002
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0376
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT IMMEDIATE 0317
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE IMMEDIATE 2624
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN IMMEDIATE 8936
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES IMMEDIATE 2760

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ROME 001993 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV IT KZ KG TX TI UZ
SUBJECT: ITALIAN CONFERENCE ON CENTRAL ASIA FOCUSES ON 
SECURITY, STABILITY, TRADE AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT 
 
ROME 00001993  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) On September 10 the Italian MFA hosted an 
international conference on Central Asia in Rome.  The 
conference included the participation of the FMs from Italy 
and Uzbekistan, DFMs from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, 
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.  Representatives of Italy, the US 
(SCA/CEN Spratlen), EU, NATO and OSCE rejected any ideas that 
Central Asian nations were pawns in a zero-sum game between 
the West and Russia, saying the Euro-Atlantic community was 
working in partnership with the region to develop 
institutions, resources and access to the international 
community.  Central Asian representatives said that they 
would jealously guard their sovereignty and work with 
international partners on a basis of mutual respect and 
common interests.  Russian DFM Karasin cautioned the West not 
to pressure the region to make immediate democratic reforms 
and to respect the history, traditions and established 
society of the region.   Representatives of the Italian 
business community were on hand to share their trade and 
investment experiences in Central Asia and noted the 
complexities of China's growing regional role.   End summary. 
 
Central Asian representatives:  We Are More Than Just Energy 
Producers 
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¶2. (U)  Kazakh DFM Ermekbayev, Turkmen DFM Khagiev, and 
Kyrgyz DFM Ibraimov noted that Central Asia welcomed 
international engagement but noted that the relations should 
be based on mutual respect and all interactions should be 
mutually beneficial.  Additionally, the international 
community should stop seeing Central Asia as simply an energy 
producing region.  The region could cooperate on security, 
environment, trade and military cooperation.  In his 
well-organized and forward-looking presentation in English, 
Ermekbayev said Kazakhstan sought to expand its economy 
beyond energy and become one of the 50 most competitive 
economies in the world.  All participants equated security 
with the stability of their established regimes.  On energy, 
all representatives noted that they would jealously guard 
their sovereignty and would carefully weigh their options 
before entering into binding agreements.  Uzbek FM Norov 
criticized the EU for its lack of substantial investment 
despite claims to want long-term engagement and greater 
influence.  Norov claimed EU nations combined provided half 
as much investment as Russia and even less than China.  He 
belittled the commitment of 750 million euros over seven 
years in the June 2007 EU strategy.  Still, he insisted 
Uzbekistan was a solid partner in regional stability and was 
prepared to do more to counter threats of organized crime, 
drugs, and religious militancy emanating from Afghanistan. 
(Note: This past May, the EU reaffirmed some of its sanctions 
against Uzbekistan over its human rights record.  The EU will 
revisit the decision in October, which may have provided a 
pretext for Norov's gloomy portrait of Uzbek-EU relations.) 
 
US: Options and Opportunities Needed for Sovereignty, 
Stability and Prosperity in Central Asia 
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¶3. (U)  SCA/CEN Spratlen outlined USG priorities - security, 
regional economic integration and energy, and political 
reform with democratic foundations.  From the US perspective, 
success in each area reinforced success in other areas.  The 
US supported political and economic reform, rule of law, good 
governance, human rights and religious freedom, free trade 
and open markets, development of small businesses, energy 
investment, and cooperation in the fight against terror and 
weapons of mass destruction, all at the same time.  She 
outlined USG security cooperation with governments of the 
region.  Spratlen added, however, that as long as segments of 
the population continue to be economically marginalized, they 
will be vulnerable to the call of extremism.  On economic 
integration, the US is pushing for greater regional 
 
ROME 00001993  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
integration through infrastructure and other linkages to 
Afghanistan and South Asia, as well as expanded access to 
international markets.  Energy resources, if managed wisely, 
could become an engine for growth and modernization.  Energy 
should not be the sole basis of the economy, however, and 
investment in other sectors was crucial.  Governments of the 
region needed to fight corruption, strengthen the rule of 
law, and improve judicial institutions in order to create a 
favorable investment climate.  Ultimately, however, the US 
believed that only democratic reform would provide stability 
and economic prosperity in the region. 
 
Italy:  We Want More Influence 
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¶4. (U) FM D'Alema noted that Central Asia's importance to 
Europe and to Italy, in particular, was growing.  Italy hoped 
to become a leading EU partner for the region and hoped to 
develop historical and ancient ties to the region to continue 
to help the region open up to Europe.   D'Alema added that 
Italy's interests were not entirely based on the region's 
energy production.  Italy looked to the countries of Central 
Asia for cooperation on security, the fight against 
terrorism, organized crime, and drug and human trafficking. 
D'Alema insisted that, like other players in the region, 
Italy was interested in promoting democratic reforms, 
including respect for human and religious rights.  Italy, 
unlike other powers, rejected an aggressive approach to 
promoting democracy, preferring a long-term, multilateral 
approach through the EU, OSCE, NATO, SCO and other fora. 
 
Russia: Change is Evolutionary, not Revolutionary 
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¶5. (U)  DFM Karasin noted that 16 years after the unfortunate 
events of 1991, the region continued to have serious social 
and economic problems domestically and between themselves. 
Additionally, the region was confronted by instability 
emanating from Afghanistan, which the US and NATO had failed 
to contain.  Russia welcomed Western engagement but urged the 
West to respect historical, social and traditional values 
that had developed in the region.  The international 
community should not expect a historical leap, but rather 
should prepare for evolutionary change.  Central Asia was 
growing in importance and Russia had a significant role to 
play given its common history in the region.  Russia welcomed 
US and other Western involvement but noted that any foreign 
military presence could be misinterpreted.  Karasin agreed 
that there was no great game afoot in the region and Russia 
was open to the idea of new energy routes and competition. 
The West, however, was politicizing the issue of alternate 
energy routes and applying a double standard in its attempts 
to control new supply lines. 
 
EU/NATO/OSCE:  Central Asia Undergoing a Complex Evolution 
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¶6. (U)  EU Special Representative for Central Asia Morel 
agreed that Central Asia was not a pawn in a zero-sum game 
between Russia and the West.  Instead the region was 
undergoing a complex evolution with five independent states 
pursuing their own interests.  The EU was working to increase 
its engagement with the region after a slow start.  In 
1992-1993 few EU nations had a presence in the region.  Today 
the 27 nations have strong representation.  The EU has 
significant security, commercial, and social interests and is 
committed to long-term investment and engagement.  The EU 
will provide a frame of reference for bilateral relations and 
will also work through the OSCE, EUROSEC, and SCO to extend 
its influence.  To implement its strategy, Morel noted that 
he encouraged increased bilateral visits, parliamentary 
commissions and the opening of embassies.  The EU would also 
support and encourage private investment in energy.  He 
noted, however, that there was no hidden agenda in the EU's 
efforts to increase its presence and these efforts should not 
be a threat to anyone. 
 
 
ROME 00001993  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶7. (U)  Perrin de Brichambaut, Secretary General of OSCE, 
noted that OSCE was an indispensable actor in the region. 
With 56 member states, OSCE is the largest security 
cooperation organization in the world and the Central Asian 
countries had already become full partners on all issues.  He 
noted that a Kazakh chairmanship of the organization was 
under serious consideration.   The infrastructure, experience 
and expertise of the OSCE made it an important player in the 
development of the region.  It was expansive (included Asia, 
Europe and North America), inclusive (participation of all 
nations of the region) and rapid in its response to needs of 
its members. 
 
¶8. (U)  NATO Representative for Central Asia Tuncer agreed 
that the engagement of NATO through the PFP program was not 
an effort to dislodge or substitute the influence of other 
players in the region.   Additionally, NATO would not compete 
with or duplicate the efforts of any other organization in 
the region.   Tuncer added that since the 2004 Istanbul 
summit, NATO had undertaken to increase its engagement with 
Central Asia and had appointed a permanent representative. 
 
¶9. (U)  Executive Director of the UN Office for Drug Control 
and Crime Prevention Costa noted that Central Asia's 
participation in the fight against drugs was crucial.  The 
vast majority of the world's opium supply originates in South 
Asia and Central Asia was becoming a key transit point. 
Fortunately, the nations of Central Asia do not border the 
poppy producing provinces of Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, 
Central Asia is close to the majority of laboratories that 
converted the product into opium.   As a result of being 
closer the "value-added ladder" of drug production, Central 
Asia was becoming more vulnerable to the effect of drug 
trafficking.   The UN was working to establish programs 
promoting rule of law and border control to stem the flow of 
drugs and associated problems.  The UN was prepared to work 
directly or in conjunction with other international 
organizations or bilateral partners to continue this fight. 
 
Italian Commerce: Struggling to Find Footing in Shifting Sands 
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¶10. (U) In contrast to government and IO officials, ENI 
representative Maugeri believed that the region was caught in 
a competition between the West and Russia for control of 
energy resources and the right to develop and export those 
resources.   Central Asia's energy reserves are not quite as 
large as Saudi Arabia's but rivaled Iran and Iraq's.   The 
challenge for the international community would be to develop 
the sustainable extraction of these resources.   In Maugeri's 
opinion, China's influence in the region was growing and 
would eventually become dominant.   Maugeri noted that ENI's 
interest were long-term and expected that it would endure ups 
and downs.   Edison representative Quadrini added that along 
with Central Asia, the political and economic influence of 
transit countries would increase.  The EU and other energy 
consumers needed to be prepared for the political and 
economic demands of transit nations. 
 
¶11. (U)  A panel of representatives from non-energy-related 
firms Unicredit, Indesit, Finmeccanica, and Todini and ANCE 
(a small textile and design operation) were invited to 
provide examples of Italian success stories in Central Asia. 
All agreed that the domestic market was becoming increasingly 
sophisticated and developed, but they also provided personal 
narratives of unfair competition, cut-throat labor markets, 
lack of Italian government concern for their operations, and 
changing domestic rules. 
 
Comment 
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¶12. (SBU)  The Italian government is slowly moving up the 
learning curve with only two embassies in Central Asia 
(Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan).  FM D'Alema seeks a role for his 
government in a region Italy sees as increasingly strategic, 
yet uncertain.  Conversely, Italian companies with 10-15 
years of experience in the region seek to sustain their place 
 
ROME 00001993  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
in a rapidly changing market.   Although the Italian MFA 
agreed with the US assessment that the region was not the 
subject of a great game between the West and Russia, its 
worldview is decidedly Eurocentric.  The US and Russia were 
invited to speak in the opening session along with the EU. 
No other regional actor, including Turkey, was invited to 
speak.   Poloff later confirmed that the Chinese Embassy in 
Rome had not even been invited to send an observer, while 
some countries, including Poland, the Netherlands, and Latvia 
were invited to send personnel. 
 
(U) This cable was cleared by SCA/CEN Pamela Spratlen 
SPOGLI