VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #0009/01 0061420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061420Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7999
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1315
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 0013
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0734
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0001
RUEHSS/OECD POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PARIS 000009 
 
STATE PASS TO CEA FOR ROMER 
STATE PASS TO USTR 
 
FROM USOECD PARIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC ECON EINV OECD
SUBJECT: EEB A/S FERNANDEZ ADVOCATES GREATER FOCUS 
ON INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT AT OECD GLOBAL 
INVESTMENT FORUM 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  EEB Assistant Secretary Jose W. 
Fernandez co-chaired the December 7-8 OECD Global 
Forum on International Investment and underscored 
the importance of foreign direct investment for 
global economic recovery.  He discussed the upcoming 
OECD 50th Anniversary and OECD support for the G20 
with Secretary General Angel Gurria, who sought 
advice on how to use most effectively the OECD's 
comparative advantage on structural issues such as 
competition, corporate governance, and R&D. 
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director 
Nobuo Tanaka briefed Fernandez on the IEA's latest 
World Energy Outlook and its role in providing data 
for the G20's work on energy subsidies.  Tanaka 
suggested that green growth, energy subsidies work, 
and follow up to Copenhagen are priority areas for 
future U.S.-IEA collaboration.  Bilateral meetings 
are covered septel.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) A/S Fernandez and Egyptian Minister of 
Investment Mahmoud Moheildin co-chaired the eighth 
annual Global Forum on International Investment 
December 7-8 at OECD's Paris headquarters.  In 
recent years the OECD and UNCTAD have jointly 
sponsored annual meetings of the Forum and a wide 
range of countries, members of civil society, and 
academics participate ? this year over 500 attendees 
from 74 countries and 10 International 
Organizations.  The U.S. and others have worked with 
OECD and UNCTAD to improve collaboration and raise 
the profile of the event given the growing 
importance of international investment policy to 
economic growth and development. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In his opening remarks, A/S Fernandez 
emphasized the importance of international 
investment for job creation, economic recovery, and 
addressing global challenges such as climate change. 
He stressed investment's role as a driver of trade 
flows and economic development, and its growing 
importance on the international economic policy 
agenda.  He also highlighted the centrality of the 
investment relationship between the U.S. and Europe, 
noting that the United States will want to engage 
Europe's new leaders, the Commission, and Member 
States as competency over investment policy shifts 
to the Commission with the Lisbon Treaty. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Addressing the issue of whether 
international investment was a force for a stronger, 
cleaner, and fairer world economy, other panelists, 
including the Costa Rican Trade Minister, the Vice 
Minister of Planning and Investment from Vietnam, 
Indonesia's Vice Minister for Agriculture and the 
Secretary General of UNCTAD, all agreed on the 
important role of cross-border investment.  Concerns 
included improving developing country capacity to 
attract green investment (and benefit from the Clean 
Development Mechanism), fostering balance between 
short- and long-term interests, and avoiding 
investment protectionism. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Minister Moheildin emphasized Egypt's 
success in attracting FDI after a series of reforms, 
while warning of the potential for global fiscal 
stimulus to crowd out investment.  Nevertheless, 
most participants agreed that so far there has been 
little incidence of protectionist measures. 
Moheildin stressed the importance of creating an 
attractive business climate, while noting that 
investment incentives can create distortions.  A/S 
Fernandez reinforced that view, and cautioned 
against a regulatory race to the bottom. 
 
¶6. (SBU) A/S Fernandez met with OECD Secretary 
General Gurria on December 7.  Gurria briefed A/S 
Fernandez on the organization's work with respect to 
 
anti-corruption measures, innovation, India's 
investment review and other work.  He asked how the 
OECD could be most helpful, particularly in support 
of the G20.  Gurria acknowledged that the OECD 
sometimes tries to anticipate needs and sometimes 
pushes too hard.  He described the OECD?s peer 
review process and the increasing acceptance of its 
comparative data such as on education with PISA (an 
OECD program that administers standardized 
educational achievement tests to 15-year-olds to 
allow for international comparison).  He also raised 
the upcoming OECD 50th Anniversary (December 2010 to 
September 2011) and expressed hope that perhaps 
Secretary Clinton could chair the 2011 Ministerial 
Council Meeting or that President Obama could have 
an event at the OECD while in France for the 2011 G- 
20 Summit. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Noting that he would be departing for 
Washington the next day, Gurria said that he would 
be meeting with Under Secretary Hormats, with whom 
he said he had discussed anti-corruption work, a 
model investment treaty, review of the Guidelines 
for Multinational Enterprises, innovation, and green 
growth.  Regarding the possibility of work on a 
model investment treaty, Carolyn Ervin, Director of 
the OECD's Financial and Enterprise Affairs 
Directorate, described the "soft" process of 
building wider acceptance of certain legal 
principles, particularly among developing countries, 
in advance of potentially opening discussions about 
a model treaty. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Gurria provided A/S Fernandez with a 
written status report of OECD work related to the 
G20 in what he said were 14 different areas (such as 
tax, fuel subsidies, anti-bribery, etc.).  He 
referred to the G20 Framework for Strong, 
Sustainable and Balanced Growth and said that in St. 
Andrews the OECD was "told to help out," though the 
IMF has the lead.  Gurria sought U.S. advice on how 
to use the OECD's comparative advantage on issues 
such as competition, corporate governance and R&D. 
He explained that he had traveled to Canada and 
Korea to seek their input.  Gurria predicted that 
the G20 would shift away from regulatory issues like 
bank capital requirements, which are too detailed 
for leaders, and toward broader issues like 
sustainable growth, climate change and job creation, 
where the OECD has a natural role. 
 
¶9. (SBU) A/S Fernandez praised Gurria and the OECD 
for its valuable work and expressed his interest in 
maintaining dialogue.  He noted the strong U.S. 
interest in outreach to non-members.  Regarding the 
50th Anniversary, he downplayed the possibility of 
President Obama's participation while suggesting 
that a role for Secretary Clinton was not 
impossible.  A/S Fernandez signaled support for 
green growth work and interest in the recent 
investment review of India.  He cautioned Gurria on 
not over-extending and keeping focused on the work 
the OECD does well, a point Gurria had clearly heard 
before.  "Our concern is not that we overextend," he 
said, "but that we haven't been telling you what we 
do.  But I take your point."  Gurria concluded the 
meeting by inviting A/S Fernandez to participate in 
the spring Executive Council in Special Session. 
 
¶10. (SBU) A/S Fernandez also met with International 
Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka 
on December 7.  Tanaka discussed the latest edition 
of the IEA's flagship publication, the World Energy 
Outlook.  Fernandez was particularly interested in 
the IEA's forecasting on different scenarios to 
address reductions in energy-related greenhouse gas 
emissions.  Tanaka reviewed what OECD and non-OECD 
 
countries would need to do to achieve a target of 
450 ppm of CO2.  This included meeting or exceeding 
energy efficiency goals, investing in new 
technologies, and developing alternative energy 
sources.  He noted the IEA's estimates for the 
amount of investment needed, both from the public 
and private sectors. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In addition, Fernandez and Tanaka 
discussed outreach efforts to India and China. 
Tanaka indicated that while China was close to being 
able to meet IEA requirements for strategic 
petroleum reserves, India was not yet ready to make 
such a commitment.  Indonesia, however, was very 
interested in developing a strategic petroleum 
reserve. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Finally, Tanaka described the work the 
IEA was doing to fulfill the G20's request for 
information on energy subsidies.  He noted that 
details were still being worked out, but that IEA 
would be responsible for the data on subsidies.  In 
response to Fernandez's question about how EEB could 
support IEA, Tanaka indicated there were many areas 
for cooperation.  He noted green growth, the 
subsidies work and next steps following Copenhagen. 
He said that energy security and climate issues must 
be addressed together.  And finally, Tanaka noted 
the IEA can always use additional resources. 
 
¶13. (U) This cable was cleared by EEB A/S Fernandez. 
 
Monroe