VZCZCXRO7435
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHBR #1610/01 3511155
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161155Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3106
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 7265
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 5977
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 4308
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 6742
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7615
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0759
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 8807
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6989
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 3204
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001610 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ETRD BR ASEAN
SUBJECT: FIRST MERCOSUL-ASEAN MINISTERIAL: BABY STEPS, BUT 
CONTINUITY IS ENSURED 
 
BRASILIA 00001610  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  At the first Mercosul-ASEAN ministerial, 
delegations discussed global affairs, trade and investment, 
people-to people ties, and future cooperation.  A joint 
declaration highlighted the blocs' "firm commitment to 
successfully concluding the Doha Round in a fair and balanced 
manner."  Brazilian diplomats said the meeting revealed 
divergent views among ASEAN members on whether to pursue a 
free trade agreement with Mercosul, despite an ASEAN 
moratorium on new negotiations.  Ministers agreed to continue 
the ASEAN-Mercosul meetings, which Brazil considers a 
significant achievement and a path toward eventual trade 
negotiations.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Ministers from all Mercosul and ASEAN member 
states met in the first ministerial meeting of the two blocs 
on November 24 in Brasilia for talks on global affairs, trade 
and investment, people-to people ties, and future 
cooperation.  The agenda began with discussions of the 
international financial situation, energy security, food 
security, and the WTO and Doha Round, followed by sessions on 
developments in ASEAN and Mercosul, enhancing trade and 
economic ties between ASEAN and Mercosul, promoting 
people-to-people ties, and an action agenda for future 
ASEAN-Mercosul cooperation. 
 
Differences Among ASEAN Members Over Trade Talks 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Second Secretary Andre Saboya Martins, Department 
of International Negotiations of the Brazilian Ministry of 
External Relations, said the meeting revealed divergent views 
among ASEAN members on whether to pursue a free trade 
agreement with Mercosul.  Singapore and a few other ASEAN 
members were clearly in favor of trade talks with Mercosul, 
while others opposed such a course, according to Martins.  He 
reported that that one (unnamed) ASEAN country's embassy 
phoned him afterwards to ask about opening trade talks as 
soon as possible. 
 
Continuity Ensured for ASEAN-Mercosul Meetings 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Ministers agreed to continue meeting, an outcome 
that was not a foregone conclusion because ASEAN had adopted 
a moratorium on new negotiations.  Mercosul members were 
pleased because they wanted to ensure continuity, Martins 
said, and now there is a mechanism to continue talking 
without actually entering into economic and commercial 
negotiations, something ASEAN is not open to as a bloc. 
(Note: ASEAN countries may conduct trade negotiations 
individually, but Mercosul members may do so only as a bloc. 
End note.)  The next ASEAN-Mercosul meeting, scheduled for 
March 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, is to be a high-level meeting to 
develop a Plan of Action and Road Map for ministers' 
consideration on the margins of the September 2009 UN General 
Assembly, followed by a second ministerial in an ASEAN 
country not later than June 2010. 
 
Multilateral Negotiations Should Meet Emerging Economies' 
Needs 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  During the discussion of the global financial 
crisis, ministers agreed on the need to create both a global 
architecture of financial institutions and a Doha Round 
result closer to the needs o emerging economies, according 
to Martins.  The oint press statement also reflected a view 
in favor of more favorable conditions for emerging economies 
in the Doha Round, calling for a successful conclusion of the 
Round "in a fair and balanced manner," expressing opposition 
to export subsidies for agricultural products and suport for 
"incorporating a development dimension n international 
discussions concerning intellectual property." 
 
Comment 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Part of the cntext for Brazil's interest in 
engaging ASEAN naions is President Lula's push to strengthen 
sout-south contacts, build new trade relationships, sek 
support for Brazil's UN reform aspirations, and advance the 
interests of Brazil and like-minded tates in multilateral 
negotiations.  The rest ofthe context, as Martins pointed 
 
BRASILIA 00001610  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
out, is that Mercosul is already in negotiations with the EU, 
Israel, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council, 
and the South African Customs Union, and the ASEAN talks 
should also be viewed in that other, larger picture of bloc 
to bloc outreach.  Mercosul may be ready to go faster than 
ASEAN as a whole, so ASEAN will hold the pace back, but we 
can also expect to see individual ASEAN members break out of 
the pack and make trade negotiation overtures to Mercosul, as 
one already has. 
SOBEL