C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001521

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2015
TAGS: PREL ENRG EAID MASS IN AF IR PK

SUBJECT: KARZAI IN NEW DELHI: FUNDING FOR PUL-I-KHUMRI LEADS INDIA'S COMMITMENTS
REF: NEW DELHI 395
Classified By: Political Counselor Geoff Pyatt. Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to New Delhi and Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh's prior trip to Kabul were ""immensely successful,"" MEA Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) Arun Singh told PolCouns on February 28. In connection with Karzai's visit, India made an additional USD 100 million development assistance commitment, raising its total to USD 500 million, with an eye to furthering its long-term foreign policy goals in Central Asia. Following Karzai's raising of the military assistance issue, the GOI would welcome a dialogue with us on how New Delhi could best contribute to the expansion of the ANA. End Summary.


2. (C) MEA Joint Secretary Arun Singh was ecstatic about Karzai's successful February 23-25 visit to New Delhi, as well as the visit by FM Natwar Singh to Kabul one week earlier. In a meeting with PolCouns and PolOff on February 28, he outlined several areas of increasing Indian-Afghan cooperation, including infrastructure, ANA development, and transit trade.
Completion of Pul-i-Khumri Power Line Promised
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3. (C) Singh explained that India will fully fund and execute the 200 km mountainous segment of the Pul-i-Khumri to Kabul power transmission line, as well as construct a transformer substation in Kabul, committing USD 100 million to this project, and raising the total amount of Indian aid planned for 2002-2008 to USD 500 million. The power project is expected to ease critical shortages of electricity in Kabul. Singh said construction will begin after the snows melt this year. New Delhi now would like trilateral discussions with Kabul and the Asian Development Bank, which will fund the construction of another 200 km segment in the plains, in order to agree on technical specifications and timing of construction. Singh noted that the Indian Power Grid Corporation, the executing entity for the project, has been responsible for the surveys, but suggested that it might be helpful for US te

chnical experts from Kabul to meet their Afghan and Indian counterparts to share plans. Singh suggested that further use of US helicopters might be needed for transport during the construction phase.


4. (C) According to Singh, India has completed a warehouse project in Kandahar for dry goods and produce and now plans an expansion of capacity. The GOI has also completed installation of satellite uplink facilities at Kabul and downlink stations in ten provincial capitals to facilitate TV coverage, and plans to expand that coverage to the rest of the country. During his visit to Kabul, FM Singh also handed over the penultimate batch of 49 vehicles from a total commitment of 300 trucks for the Afghan National Army, and inaugurated the Indian-funded Indira Gandhi Hospital (reftel). Other assistance measures announced during the Karzai visit included an Indian plan to implement on a pilot basis a community development program to generate alternative employment in opium growing areas, and the signing of an MOU on cooperation in civil aviation, including training in airport management, air traffic control, navigation aids, and aircraft maintenance and safety procedures.
What Afghanistan Needs Next
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5. (C) Reviewing potential areas for future assistance, Singh noted that Afghanistan has a shortage of skilled laborers, particularly in construction fields such as plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work. Additionally, a large cohort of 15-18 year olds is about to enter the job market. He suggested that these issues might be addressed through ""train-the-trainer"" type assistance in which Afghans would be trained to teach needed skills. He noted that the establishment of a central certification authority for skilled workers would increase the value of skills learned, and enhance the job mobility of the workers who hold certificates. (Note: a central certification authority might help to strengthen the influence, authority, and visibility of the central government outside of Kabul. End Note.) During his visit here, Karzai highlighted requests for more Indian teachers and doctors to work in Afghanistan, and Indian expertise to assist in setting up telemedicine facilities to provide services in remote areas.


6. (C) Asked about military assistance to the ANA, including parts for the Army's Soviet-origin equipment, Singh agreed that GOI-USG coordination would be useful. He stated that Karzai had raised the ANA issue during his visit to Delhi.
With this step accomplished, the Joint Secretary added, the time had come for the US to review and consolidate requests for assistance to the ANA, and present the coordinated requests to the GOI.
Transit of Goods and Gas
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7. (C) Singh emphasized that India supports Afghanistan's inclusion in the SAARC regional organization. Afghanistan has already broached the idea with India and Pakistan, suggesting that the GOA wanted to confirm support for its accession before making the next step of a formal request to the SAARC Secretary General. Singh stressed the benefit to trade and assistance programs of a transit agreement with Pakistan for links between India and Afghanistan, and stated that Karzai had committed to press the government of Pakistan for agreement. Karzai publicly bemoaned the ""miserably low"" level of bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan (USD 180 million/year) at an industry-sponsored meeting, and a transit agreement would further his efforts to increase trade. Underlining the GOI vision of a comprehensive partnership with Afghanistan, Singh noted that Natwar Singh was joined in Kabul by eight technical ministers, all of whom met with their GOA counterparts.


8. (C) Singh emphasized that India now has no political objections to gas pipeline links from either Turkmenistan (via Afghanistan) or Iran (via Pakistan). In New Delhi, Singh reported, Karzai pushed hard for the pipeline from Turkmenistan. However, the Joint Secretary added, gas supplies from Turkmenistan now appear uncertain, and the GOI was not sure of extra gas production capacity there that was not already committed to Russia. India would not commit to the costs of a pipeline in light of the uncertainty of supply, but would seek an arrangement similar to what was recently reached with Iran (payment only for supplies delivered at the border, leaving the pipeline construction and operation costs on the supplier).
Iranian aspects of the Indo-Afghan relation
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9. (C) Reflecting on the recent visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi, Singh stated that the Iranian Foreign Office and establishment are supportive of Karzai, but the ""other lot,"" meaning the mullahs, ""was of two minds,"" and supported his electoral opponents. Iran has also complained to the GOI about the Indian-sponsored Salma Dam in Afghanistan, fearing a reduction in water supplies downriver.
In these cases, India told the Iranians to discuss their complaints with the Afghans, Singh stated.
Comment
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10. (C) The commitment of USD 500 million in development assistance to Afghanistan is a major step for India, establishing this as the GOI's largest commitment as a donor nation anywhere in the world, and demonstrating the priority New Delhi accords to this relationship. We would encourage early US engagement on the Kabul-Pul-i-Khumri project as a means to build on the positive atmospherics of the Karzai visit.
MULFORD