NEW INDIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS BACKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001169 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016 TAGS: PREL KDEM UNSC PHUM PTER MARR MASS MOPS KNNP PINS, AF, IZ, IR, IN SUBJECT: NEW INDIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS BACKS US-INDIA TIES AND DEMOCRACY PROMOTION REF: A. SECSTATE 22896 ¶B. NEW DELHI 0759 Classified By: Ambassador David Mulford for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met with newly appointed Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma on February 14 to review plans for the President's visit, push for an Indian reply on our proposal for a democracy initiative (Ref B) and present the US appeal for further Indian assistance equipping the Afghan National Army (Ref A). Sharma was well briefed on the full spectrum of our bilateral engagement, and upbeat about the opportunities presented by the President's visit. On democracy, Sharma agreed that whatever the GOI does to help implement the programs of the UN Democracy Fund should carry Indian branding, and should not just lead to the establishment of another UN office in New Delhi. On Afghan assistance, Sharma promised to explore ANA equipment possibilities, while expressing concern about the recent uptick in Taliban violence. Sharma was hopeful that issues related to the July 18 civil nuclear framework would be resolved through another meeting of the working group chaired by Undersecretary Burns and Foreign Secretary Shayam Saran. Sharma is a strong proponent of the US-India relationship who will hopefully provide some political cover for those in the MEA bureaucracy who have been driving our ambitious agenda of transformation. End Summary. POSITIVE REPLY ON AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION DEMARCHE -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador opened by presenting Ref A demarche, noting India's history of involvement with Afghan reconstruction and encouraging the GOI to look favorably at the idea of additional equipment support for the ANA. Sharma promised favorable consideration of this request, noting GOI concern about rising violence fed by the Taliban. GOI STILL MULLING OVER UN DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE DETAILS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Turning to the President's planned program in New Delhi and Hyderabad, the Ambassador emphasized the breadth of our bilateral engagement, highlighting the democracy initiative (Ref B) as something closely linked to the President's freedom agenda. If the GOI can offer a solid proposal for deploying India's democracy-building capacity, the Ambassador added, we would like to highlight that for the President's visit. Aside from India's important example of success as a functioning, multi-ethnic democracy, we want to encourage the GOI to think ambitiously about its role in building democracy elsewhere. Sharma described this as "something which would be of interest," noting that the GOI was considering the proper format for such an initiative, and whether some kind of NGO could take the lead. MEA Joint Secretary (Americas) Jaishankar interjected that the GOI was SIPDIS debating whether to set up its own NGO, or to encourage the UN Democracy Fund to establish a base of operations in Delhi. The Ambassador underlined that we should build on the precedent of the UN Democracy Fund's launching ceremony in New York, which was focused on the US-India partnership. PolCouns added that we should not settle for the creation of just another office at the UN compound in New Delhi. Sharma agreed, remarking that "people should get the message that there's more to this than India just contributing to a UN fund." India, he added, "has the responsibility and NEW DELHI 00001169 002 OF 002 credibility to contribute to this process." PITCH FOR UNSC SUPPORT DURING POTUS VISIT -------------- ¶4. (C) The UN discussion segued into an extended review of the UN Security Council, with Sharma making a strong pitch for some kind of positive statement about India's candidacy during the President's visit. Responding to the Ambassador's observation that the US pledge on Japan had been made many years ago, Sharma argued that the broad deepening of our bilateral partnership argued for a new US look at India's candidacy for permanent membership. Noting that "democratization of the UN" demands India's permanent UNSC membership, Sharma recalled earlier meetings with the Secretary and S/UNR Shirin Tahir-Kheli where he observed that SIPDIS US support for India's candidacy would accelerate a "coming together" of India and the US that should be a dominant feature of the 21st century. OPTIMISTIC ON INDIAN SUPPORT FOR CIVIL-NUCLEAR DEAL -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) In preparing for the President's visit, the Ambassador noted, one of the few substantive obstacles relates to lack of agreement on the civil military separation plan promised as part of our July 18 framework for civil-nuclear cooperation. Sharma noted that both the Prime Minister and President Bush were fully committed to the July 18 framework, so the only hurdle was finding common ground that reflects our "decision and willingness to move forward." In this context, he was optimistic that outstanding issues could be resolved through another meeting of the working group chaired by Undersecretary Burns and Foreign Secretary Saran. The Ambassador explained the challenge of negotiating agreement that could subsequently pass muster with Congress, warning that this was a process over which we both would have only partial control. Therefore, he added, it was important for India to be crystal clear about what it was promising and to provide a credible rationale for what the GOI is intending to keep outside the safeguards process. ¶6. (C) Sharma reiterated that the Prime Minister was fully committed to the July 18 concept, and urged us not to be distracted by "motivated elements." He noted that the government is "working on what will be on the civilian list," remarking that in light of the huge progress in the bilateral relationship the Prime Minister "is not too much concerned" by the recent criticisms of the nuclear deal, since "such objections and criticisms are inherent in a democracy." Sharma agreed that it was important to keep the nuclear deal above partisan politics, noting that he was ready for some turbulence when Parliament comes back on February 16. This criticism will include the GOI vote on Iran, Sharma predicted, but the fact is "we voted in our own interests and in so doing joined the majority" at the IAEA. ¶7. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/ MULFORD