VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0838/01 1711213
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191213Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1380

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000838 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/OLAC/APEACHER 
USDOC FOR 3134/USFCS/OIO/WH/JLEBLANC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP BEXP AR
SUBJECT: GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA VISITS ARGENTINA 
 
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Governor Riley Leads Alabama Trade Mission to Argentina 
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¶1. On June 4-6, 2008, Ambassador welcomed a 43-member Alabama Trade 
Mission led by Governor Bob Riley and organized by the Embassy's 
Commercial Section.  The purpose of the mission was to increase 
awareness and promote future business opportunities between the 
State of Alabama and Argentina.  During the visit, Governor Riley 
and the Ambassador met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge 
Taiana, Buenos Aires Provincial Governor Daniel Scioli, and Buenos 
Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri.  In each of the meetings, the Governor 
highlighted Alabama's $500 million investment to remodel its port in 
Mobile, stressing that it could be used as a gateway to the Midwest 
for Latin American goods.  He also noted a recent USD 4.2 billion 
investment by Thyssen-Krupp, which is in the process of building a 
carbon and stainless steel processing facility in the city of Mt. 
Vernon.  In addition to his VIP delegation representing various 
State agencies, the Governor was accompanied by 15 educators from 
the Universities of Alabama, Auburn, Troy and Tuskegee who traveled 
to Argentina to learn more about business and cultural practices in 
hopes of promoting greater opportunities for educational exchanges 
and attracting more Argentine students.  Five Alabama-based firms 
also participated and utilized FCS' Gold Key Service in hopes of 
developing/increasing their market presence in Argentina.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
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Governor Riley Meets Foreign Minister Taiana 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  Alabama Governor Bob Riley, accompanied by Ambassador Wayne, met 
June 4 with Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana.  Also in the meeting from 
Alabama were State Senator Roger Bedford, Policy Director Brian 
Taylor, and Director for International Trade Hilda Lockhart.  MFA 
participants included Under Secretary for Bilateral Relations 
Ambassador Vicente Espeche Gil and International Trade Director for 
North America and Hemispheric Affairs Alejandro Casiro. 
 
------------------------------- 
Mobile Gateway to the Midwest 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Gov. Riley focused most of his comments on the pending 
inauguration of the completed work to upgrade and modernize the Port 
of Mobile, a USD 500 million-plus investment that will make the Port 
one of the most modern and efficient in the U.S.   Gov. Riley 
explained the geographical and logistical advantages of the Port, 
noting that interstate and rail connections would give importers 
easy access to the Midwestern region of the U.S. 
 
¶4.  FM Taiana noted that Argentina traditionally had looked to ports 
on the eastern seaboard to ship its goods but that it was important 
that there be alternative access to the U.S.   Commenting on the 
technological upgrades to the Port of Mobile, Alejandro Casiro 
stressed how important this will be as the U.S. moves to 100 percent 
screening of all container cargo. 
 
---------------------------- 
Trade Missions and Education 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Ambassador Wayne explained that the Governor was accompanied by 
a large educational delegation from Alabama universities, and that 
their visit was a good opportunity to expand contacts and facilitate 
exchanges.  Gov. Riley noted that Alabama had an existing program 
(the 1-2-1 Program) with China in which students could do one year 
at home, two years at a foreign University, returning to their home 
University for the final year, and receive a degree from both 
Universities.  He noted the possibility of exploring a similar 
arrangement with Argentina. Embassy officials introduced members of 
the delegation to several local universities who are interested in 
establishing exchange programs with U.S. universities. 
 
¶6.  Alejandro Casiro noted that the MFA would be organizing a number 
of trade delegations through their Consulate in Atlanta. One 
delegation planned to visit Birmingham.  Gov. Riley stated that 
Alabama would be glad to host any delegations and would be 
particularly interested in giving delegations a tour of the new 
Mobile Port facilities.  He also encouraged the MFA to consider 
including an educational component in their trade delegations, 
something FM Taiana said was a very good idea. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Alabama Moving Forward With Brazil: Biofuels and Steel 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7.  Gov. Riley asked FM Taiana about the FAO meeting in Rome, from 
which Taiana and President Fernandez de Kirchner had just returned. 
Taiana said the meeting was very important with a lot of discussion 
of the structural aspects of rising food prices.  The Governor noted 
that there had been significant criticism of the U.S. and its 
use/diversion of food crops for producing biofuels.  He explained 
that the delegation would be going to Sao Paulo next to discuss 
biofuels initiatives, among other issues, and said that Alabama and 
Brazil were looking at the potential for growing sugarcane in 
Alabama.  Using technology developed by a California company, the 
plan is to turn that sugar into jet ful.  The Governor said that 
people were recognizing that we can't continue to use food crops to 
produce fuel.  Developing sugarcane and similar alternative sources 
would take the pressure off of corn, soybeans, and grains. 
 
¶8.  The Governor also noted a recent USD 4.2 billion investment by 
German steel giant Thyssen-Krupp for the construction of a carbon 
and stainless steel processing facility in the city of Mt. Vernon. 
The Governor explained that the company will import iron ore smelted 
in Brazil and then roll and process it in their Alabama facility to 
supply a strong Alabama automobile industry, among others. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Governor Scioli Welcomes Governor Riley 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  The Governor, accompanied by his Alabama colleagues and 
Ambassador Wayne, met June 5 with Buenos Aires Province Governor 
Daniel Scioli.  Governor Scioli was joined by two cabinet members 
including Secretary of Investment Promotion, Exports, and 
International Cooperation Alfredo Atanasof. 
 
¶10.  As in his other meetings, Governor Riley and Senator Bedford 
highlighted Alabama's strong economic growth and successful distance 
education program.  Governor Riley discussed the transformation of 
Alabama's economy from a low-skill, garment-based economy to a 
high-tech economy.  In addition to citing statistics on Alabama's 
transformation, Governor Riley discussed Alabama's growing 
automobile production, deep-water port and 1-2-1 University 
international exchange program.  Scioli seemed thoroughly interested 
in bilateral trade activities between the two regions and Alabama's 
impressive economic growth. 
 
----------------- 
Political Musings 
----------------- 
 
¶11.  Scioli joked that his experience racing motorboats was good 
training for the rough waters of the Argentine political 
environment.  He noted the cyclical nature of politics and 
Argentina's economy, highlighting potential shortages of foodstuffs 
and energy and calling for Argentina to become a value-added 
producer.  Scioli held the government line regarding the conflict 
with the agricultural sector, telling the delegation how the success 
of soy had displaced production of other agricultural staples. 
Scioli suggested the conflict with the "campo" would soon end 
because it was too damaging.  Scioli noted an Argentine tendency to 
politicize and escalate problems before reaching solutions.  He 
reflected that the respectful discourse of the U.S. democratic 
candidates contributed to public peace of mind.  Both Scioli and 
Atanasof mentioned the importance of Argentina's recovery from the 
2001 economic crisis and how its economic success since 2001 set the 
table for today's debate in Argentina about the distribution of 
wealth and resources. 
 
¶12.  In response to Governor Riley's suggestion that Scioli may be a 
future presidential candidate, Scioli replied that he first was 
focusing on doing a good job as Governor in order to be able to 
accomplish more in the future.  He expressed admiration for Barack 
Obama's speeches and discussed political vocabulary.  In particular, 
Scioli observed that the word "change" was very strong and 
successful in politics and had worked for Obama.  Scioli added that 
he, like Hillary Clinton, used the word "solutions."  Scioli told 
Governor Riley that he attended both the Republican and Democratic 
National Conventions in 2004.  Scioli was unsure whether he would 
travel again in 2008 for the national conventions, but expressed 
interest in visiting Alabama.  Scioli commended Governor Riley and 
Senator Bedford for working together across party lines. 
 
-------------- 
Twin Provinces 
-------------- 
 
¶13.  Secretary Atanasof noted similarities between the State of 
Alabama and the Province of Buenos Aires.  Both are leaders in 
automobile production and agricultural machinery, with Buenos Aires 
Province set to produce 750,000 automobiles this year compared to 
Alabama's 850,000.  They have a similar number of public 
universities, with 14 in Buenos Aires Province and 15 in Alabama. 
Finally, Alabama and Buenos Aires Province have similar export 
levels, with Alabama being the number 26 market for Argentine 
exports in the world.  Atanasof sought to strengthen the economic 
relationship between Alabama and Buenos Aires Province, seeking both 
increased investment from Alabama and increased exports to Alabama, 
in addition to knowledge sharing to apply lessons from Alabama's 
growth, which has led all other U.S. states for the past four 
years. 
 
---------- 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶14.  Scioli expressed specific interest in finding contact 
information to follow-through on the political will expressed by the 
Alabama delegation.  Governor Riley named Director for International 
Trade Hilda Lockhart as the point-of-contact and stated Alabama 
would enjoy hosting a trade delegation from Buenos Aires Province. 
Scioli indicated his staff would bring together the companies 
exporting to Alabama for such an endeavor.  Finally, Governor Riley 
invited Scioli to Alabama for an informal dinner at the Governor's 
Mansion to discuss Alabama's economic transformation.  Scioli said 
he would visit. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
From Province to City, Governor Riley Meets With Mayor Macri 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶15.  After visiting with Governor Scioli, Governor Riley, 
accompanied by the same group met with Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio 
Macri, who was joined by some of his cabinet members, the city's 
international relations director Fulvio Pompeo, the PRO party's 
foreign policy adviser (and former ambassador to the U.S.) Diego 
Guelar, and National Deputy Eugenio Burzaco. 
 
 
¶16.  Gov. Riley said the South, including Alabama, leads the United 
States in economic growth.  During this unprecedented boom, Alabama 
maintained its high quality of life rankings.  He noted that, while 
automobile plants were closing in the northern industrial belt of 
the United States, Alabama was continuing to attract new assembly 
plants.  Just eight years ago, there was no automobile production in 
Alabama, but this year Alabama would manufacture 850,000 vehicles. 
The Governor pointed to similarities between the economies of 
Alabama and Argentina, particularly their mix of industries and 
agriculture. 
 
 
¶17.  As in his previous meetings, the Governor cited the recent $500 
million investment in upgrading the Port of Mobile, giving it a 
"quantum leap" in technology.  The Governor said Mobile, with deep 
water within 20 miles of its port, offered the best access to the 
central United States via interstate highway and rail connections. 
He noted strong Brazilian and Chilean interest in using Mobile's 
Port.  The Governor also highlighted the Thyssen-Krupp investment. 
 
--------- 
Follow-up 
--------- 
 
¶18.  The Governor told ComOff upon his departure that he was 
thoroughly pleased with the quality of his meetings.  The Governor 
noted that, if Scioli or any other Argentine delegation were 
visiting the United States, he would offer the Governor's plane to 
transport themto Alabama so that he could personally host them and 
provide a tour of the State and highlight their new Port.  The 
Governor mentioned that he would try to participate in the August 
"Americas Competitiveness Forum" held in Atlanta, and was hopeful 
that Governor Scioli would lead an Argentine business delegation to 
the event.  In addition to the Governor's official meetings, FCS 
organized programs for five Alabama-based companies looking to 
penetrate/expand their business in Argentina.  FCS also organized a 
two-day agenda for more than 15 educators from the Universities of 
Alabama, Auburn, Troy and Tuskegee.  The main purpose of their visit 
was to obtain a better understanding of Argentine business culture, 
attract more Argentine students, and generate more opportunities for 
future exchanges. 
 
WAYNE