INDIA'S OUTREACH AND ADHERENCE TO NSG

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 008049 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2015 TAGS: PREL KNNP ENRG IN NSSP SUBJECT: INDIA'S OUTREACH AND ADHERENCE TO NSG Classified By: Charge Bob Blake, Jr. for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Outlining India's efforts to seek support for the July 18 Civil Nuclear Agreement in advance of the upcoming NSG meeting, MEA Joint Secretary (Americas) S. Jaishankar passed copies of presentations the GOI was making to NSG member states to Charge, PolCouns, and PolMilOff on October 14 (copies of the papers have been faxed to SA/INS). PolCouns noted that the Indian papers did not include specific language about public adherence to MTCR and NSG Guidelines, an issue we have raised with the GOI on several occasions. Jaishankar recognized the omission, acknowledged our earlier requests about public adherence, and suggested that Under Secretary Burns raise this issue in his Oct 21 meeting with FS Saran. Jaishankar gave no indication of initial GOI thinking about separation of civil and military nuclear facilities. ¶2. (C) Regarding outreach to NSG member states on civil nuclear cooperation, Jaishankar said only that some states had given India a "predictable response" and asked what reactions we had received from other capitals, especially from China, Brazil, Japan, and Germany. PolMilOff explained that these countries had raised political and technical questions about the agreement, e.g., implications for the NPT, and implications for non-proliferation efforts vis-a-vis the DPRK and Iran, but noted that we did not have an official response from Beijing. ¶3. (SBU) The papers include a hard copy of the slide presentation the GOI made to the IAEA about India's export control system; talking points seeking support from NSG member states for civil nuclear cooperation with India; and a non-paper entitled "India's Commitment to Non-Proliferation." They do not present any new information or strategies for gaining support for the nuclear agreement. However, we are encouraged that the GOI has begun to approach other capitals on this issue. BLAKE