GOI SIFTING POTUS DELIVERABLE IDEAS, FINALIZING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 009514 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2015 TAGS: PREL OVIP KNNP TRGY TNGD EAGR ENRG MARR MASS IN SUBJECT: GOI SIFTING POTUS DELIVERABLE IDEAS, FINALIZING NUKE SEPARATION Classified By: Charge Robert Blake, Jr. for reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Foreign Secretary Saran's priority for his Washington visit, aside from presenting India's proposals for separation of its nuclear program, is to begin detailed consultations on deliverables for the upcoming POTUS visit, MEA official Jaishankar told the Charge on December 19. Jaishankar also revealed New Delhi has begun evaluating progress on each area of the July 18 Joint Statement, and distilling specific deliverables proposals from that evaluation. India would like to see specific progress that the leaders could announce in the broad areas of energy, science and technology, agriculture, defense, health, and disaster relief, along with high-profile progress in civil nuclear cooperation. On UN reform, Jaishankar urged US engagement at the FS level, noting that our efforts to win Indian support for UN management reform and the human rights council are hobbled by the perception in parts of the Indian Mission and Government that the US has conspired with China to thwart India's Security Council ambitions. End Summary. FS Focused on POTUS Visit -------------- ¶2. (C) In a meeting with the Charge before departing for Washington to accompany Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran to meet U/S Burns, MEA Joint Secretary (Americas) S Jaishankar sketched out GOI hopes for a potential POTUS visit. The MEA recently had convoked the GOI interagency and tasked each ministry with distilling specific proposals for deliverables derived from a status review of the July 18 Joint Statement, he explained. MEA will now winnow down the ideas to determine what is achievable, and plans to present initial ideas to U/S Burns. This process will be easier than the tabula rasa approach of July, he remarked, as the deliverables should follow naturally from a critical evaluation of how much has been accomplished on the Joint Statement goals. ¶3. (C) Jaishankar outlined three cross-cutting "themes" to frame the POTUS visit. First, that the growing US-India relationship is connected with improving the quality of life of the Indian people. Second, the US is interested in improving Indian quality of life because of the shared values and vision of the two countries. Third, given those shared values, the US-India partnership will have a global impact. GOI Finalizing Nuke Separation Proposal -------------- ¶4. (C) Although December 19 newspapers in New Delhi ran stories about India's nuclear separation proposal, Jaishankar warned us that the press was only speculating on the final proposal that Saran would carry. He was understandably reluctant to be drawn out on the contours of India's plan ahead of FS Saran's meeting with U/S Burns, but did confess that debate was continuing within the GOI on the precise brief to be presented in Washington. When asked if Saran would carry a proposal of "broad principles or specifics" of separation, he responded, "Call me tonight." In a follow-up conversation late on December 19, Jaishankar reported that deliberations had gone well, "and we are not going just to discuss philosophy." UN Reform -------------- ¶5. (C) After the Charge pointed to the need for a helpful public GOI statement on UN reform and the UN Human Rights Council, and the thus-far unhelpful remarks by India's PermRep in New York that appeared to oppose the US reform agenda for the UN, Jaishankar pushed back, saying that the Indian Mission in New York cites USUN Mission statements as being equally unhelpful at bridging the divide. The GOI's UN departments "have a strong grievance" stemming from USG positions on the G-4 UNSC expansion proposal, because the US declared that it was working with China to thwart the G-4's ambitions, he stated. The way to break this impasse, Jaishankar suggested, is to determine "where we're going" regarding US support for India's UNSC objective, so New Delhi can impose some discipline on the process. New York needs to see that the US is "not on the other side of the fence" regarding India's objective of a permanent UNSC seat before it can be brought around on overall reform issues, he said. Otherwise India's approach to comprehensive UN reform would continue to "drift," lacking the "sense of convergence" with the US that exists in other areas. POTUS Deliverables -------------- ¶6. (C) The Joint Secretary suggested that we should focus on outlining five or six "clusters" to frame an announcement of Presidential deliverables, along with progress in nuclear cooperation and democracy promotion. While each area may not have a show-stopping announcement, he explained, if we package several "medium sized" announcements in a cluster, each would make an impact. He proposed, in addition to whatever could be worked out on civil nuclear cooperation or UN reform, a cluster of deliverables in the areas of democracy, energy cooperation, science and technology, agriculture, health and a combination of disaster relief and defense cooperation. Democracy -------------- ¶7. (C) New Delhi is still considering the feasibility of an institution dedicated to democracy promotion, the Joint Secretary said. In contrast to the July summit where SIPDIS democracy promotion as a principle was announced, the GOI would like to have specifics for any third country initiatives well before the POTUS visit. This would allow prior consultations with third countries that might be venues for democracy promotion programs, Jaishankar pointed out, so that we could announce a particular program at the time of the POTUS visit. Charge noted that Central Asia would be a natural possibility given the recent USG efforts to link Central and South Asia. Jaishankar agreed Central Asia is a possibility for joint activities, but said MEA would need more time to vet the "sensitivities" of starting a democracy promotion program in any particular country. Energy -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Jaishankar emphasized New Delhi's view that the strongest potential deliverable in non-nuclear energy would be an announcement of joint development of the FutureGen zero-emissions coal-fired power generation plant, organized along the joint research model of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). An announcement of this type would also silence critics of the US-India relationship who complain that other areas of energy potential are being neglected in favor of nuclear cooperation, he added. Cooperation in hydrocarbons is also possible, he mused, but because most participants in that field are private sector it would be difficult to conclude any agreements before the visit. Science and Technology -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Jaishankar reported that the GOI is working to define specific initiatives in nanotechnology, and in general is focused on applied science and technology. New Delhi is screening ideas to ensure that proposals will maintain separate US and Indian funding and management, as ideas that mix the two are non-starters, he explained. Agriculture -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Agriculture cooperation would provide a good visual setting for a POTUS event, Jaishankar proposed, with a possible demonstration of Boeing's remote sensing applications or visit to an agricultural site. New Delhi would like to see a "breakthrough" on phytosanitary standards to allow mango exports to the US, he said, which would have very broad resonance in India. The center of mango production is in the constituency of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Jaishankar added. It would be feasible to combine mangoes, US corporations' increasing presence in food processing, remote sensing, and university collaboration into a very positive package for the visit, he concluded. Disaster Response and Defense -------------- ¶11. (C) Disaster response and defense cooperation are "under-realized," the Joint Secretary commented. The GOI is still working to "pull something specific together" in those areas, he said, but progress is complicated by the slow pace at which the Ministry of Defense operates in procurement. Conclusion of the pending transfer by sale of the AUSTIN class amphibious transport dock ship USS Trenton (LPD-14) fits both the disaster response and defense categories, he said, and the GOI is trying to make decisions on what it would like regarding participation in development of the Multirole Maritime Aircraft. Joint development and cost-sharing programs, Jaishankar emphasized, are the best type of announcements to demonstrate the nature of the US-India defense relationship. Health Care -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The GOI is working on a proposal on health care, Jaishankar said, which would attempt to build on the growing number of Indian health care facilities now accredited by US insurance companies and institutions. New Delhi wants to make a proposal that would be general to the system, and not just a series of "one-off" deals. However, Jaishankar added, it is important to present it so that it does not appear to be outsourcing of American medical jobs. ¶13. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: (http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) BLAKE