INDIA'S ASSESSMENT OF THE EXBS PROGRAM: "TRAIN THE

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 005115 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ETTC KNNP PARM IN GOI SUBJECT: INDIA'S ASSESSMENT OF THE EXBS PROGRAM: "TRAIN THE TRAINER" REF: NEW DELHI 4947 ¶1. (SBU) MEA Under Secretary (Disarmament and International Security) Nutan Kapoor gave PolMilOff a brief overview of an internal GOI assessment of recent EXBS events on July 5. According to Kapoor, MEA surveyed GOI officials that participated in EXBS events in the past year and found that while the courses were "very useful," they could be better targeted as "train the trainer" sessions for mid-level GOI officials to train entry-level staff. She also underscored the importance the GOI places on the courses being "interactive," i.e., sharing information equally about USG and GOI export control systems, not just presenting information about the US system. She provided specific feedback on the following EXBS events: Industry Outreach (May 2005) -------------- ¶2. (U) Kapoor stated that participants found this outreach event in Washington and Florida to be very useful. The GOI would like more of these kind of events, with more exposure to officials from different industry sectors. Threat and Risk Management Workshop (April 2005) -------------- --- ¶3. (U) Like other courses, the training modules were aimed at entry-level inspectors, not the mid-level GOI managers that attended the course. Kapoor noted that the US trainers seemed appreciative of GOI presentations in the workshop. Customs Enforcement (Dec 2004) -------------- ¶4. (U) Again, there was a "mismatch" between the basic course material and the mid-level management that attended the course, according to Kapoor. Automated Licensing Software (Sept 2004) -------------- ¶5. (U) In the future, the GOI would like the course oriented toward India's export control list, SCOMET. She stated that the GOI would also like to demonstrate the licensing software that the GOI is developing. WMD Seaport Course (expected in Sept. 2005) -------------- ¶6. (U) Per Reftel, the GOI has agreed to host the follow-on EXBS WMD seaport training either September 19-23 or the week of Sepetmber 26 at the Customs Academy in Delhi, vice Mumbai and/or Calcutta, as suggested by the USG. Further, the GOI would like the training to target mid-level Customs officials/trainers, not field-level Customs officials. Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) GOI complaints about the mismatch between the level of the information presented in the EXBS courses and their level of participation are not new and are offered in a spirit of constructive criticism. The GOI wants to use these courses to "train the trainer" rather than provide direct training to on-the-ground inspectors, as the USG would like. However, in the GOI system, mid-level officials change positions every 2-4 years, making it difficult to develop the cadre of experienced trainers that the GOI needs. BLAKE