INDIAN OFFER TO HELP IRAQ "STILL ON THE TABLE"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 006722 SIPDIS PASS TO USAID E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2015 TAGS: PREL EAID ENRG KDEM IZ IN SUBJECT: INDIAN OFFER TO HELP IRAQ "STILL ON THE TABLE" DESPITE SECURITY CONCERNS REF: A. STATE 158420 ¶B. NEW DELHI 6660 Classified By: A/DCM Geoff Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (U) This is an action request for USAID Mission in Iraq. See para 6. ¶2. (C) Summary: India's previous offers to provide training, advice, and material assistance to assist Iraq's electoral and constitutional processes are "still on the table," but remain constrained by security concerns, MEA Joint Secretary (Gulf) Sanjay Singh told A/DCM and PolMilOff on August 31. He expressed doubt, however, that Iraq could use what India has offered because of Baghdad's limited capacity to respond to matters beyond their immediate political and security concerns. Of $20 million the GOI has allocated for projects in Iraq, about $10 million is still available. The GOI is especially interested in getting more information about local electricity projects to consider funding. End Summary. Democracy: India Can Play a Helpful Role Outside Iraq -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) A/DCM underscored Foreign Minister Singh and Foreign Secretary Saran's enthusiasm for the US-India Global SIPDIS Democracy Initiative and pressed the GOI for ideas about how to translate this interest into action in Iraq. Singh reiterated the continuing caveat that any training or consultations should happen outside Iraq because of the ongoing GOI travel ban for Iraq due to ongoing security concerns. A/DCM stressed that even making a statement of support for Iraq's constitutional process would make a difference, noting the positive reverberations following the GOI statement about Iraq's elections in January. ¶4. (C) Singh raised questions about several factors which may influence acceptance of the draft constitution, e.g., whether Sunni leaders' rejection of the constitution was serious or merely a negotiating ploy, and why Sadr opposes provisions to share oil revenues. He also expressed confusion about unspecified provisions regarding oil revenue in the draft constitution. In addition, Singh asked if UNSYG Special Representative Brahimi would play a role in "fine-tuning" the current draft constitution, as he had during the drafting of the Transitional Administrative Law. ¶5. (C) Singh mentioned he was closely watching the US domestic debate about the war, opining that the dynamics of US public opinion had perhaps more impact on the increasing level of violence in Iraq than anything else. "I think the insurgents take strength from what is happening in the US," he stated. Indian Interest in Electricity Sector -------------- ¶6. (C) Following up on earlier discussions about Indian interest in providing assistance to Iraq's energy sector, PolMilOff asked about the availability of funding for such projects. Singh responded that, of the $20 million the GOI has allocated for Iraqi assistance, about $7 million has been committed to various food assistance and capacity-building projects. Of the balance, about $2 million may be used for water pumps in the marshlands, leaving about $10 million for other projects. Singh reported that this money is available immediately and projects could be funded via a mix of grant or loan, as long as equipment is sourced from India. As in previous meetings, he expressed special interest in getting specific information about high priority local electricity projects, ideally in areas where India had electricity projects in the past, e.g., Khor Zubayr. Action Request for USAID/Iraq: Please send information about projects that might meet these criteria to Embassy New Delhi. Slug responses for PolMilOff Stacy Gilbert. ¶7. (C) Finally, Singh mentioned that India will host two trade delegations from Iraq in September, one focused on agricultural issues with representation from all provinces, as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was less optimistic about the preparatory steps toward re-establishing the Indo-Iraq Joint Commission (JC),stating that the date of the first working group meeting to precede the JC had not yet been set, but the Iraqi Ministry of Oil would prepare a technical paper outlining the issues they would like the JC to address. ¶8. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: (http//www.state.sgov/p/sa/newdelhi) MULFORD