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