INDIA KEEPING AN EYE OPEN FOR OPPORTUNITIES IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 006582

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2026
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KISL MARR AF UZ TI TX KZ KG
IN
SUBJECT: INDIA KEEPING AN EYE OPEN FOR OPPORTUNITIES IN
CENTRAL ASIA


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Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: MEA Joint Secretary for Eurasia Jaimini
Bhagwati argued that India's role as an observer in the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a useful
opportunity to help the organization set reasonable
priorities. Bhagwati expressed interest in cooperating with
the U.S. on technical issues and determining the feasibility
of energy projects. On the issue of energy for the region,
Bhagwati said that Central Asia needs to diversify its
relationships. He outlined some projects the GOI has
undertaken in the region, including a joint military and air
base project in Tajikistan. He also said that, while leaders
in Central Asia are concerned by the encroachment of the
Taliban and the potential for Islamic extremism, the area is
not likely to shift suddenly to fundamentalist Islam. END
SUMMARY.

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India Sees Its Role in the SCO as Non-controversial
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2. (C) PolCouns met with Joint Secretary for Eurasia
Bhagwati on Sep. 20. Turning immediately to the SCO,
Bhagwati said that the organization hasn't thought through
the role that observer nations should have. India became an
observer in the organization last year, and is enthusiastic,
he said, about the potential for economic exchanges,
investment, and energy and transportation projects. When the
SCO works on non-controversial issues such as
narco-trafficking and counter-terrorism, India is "happy to
be a part of it," said Bhagwati. He stressed that India's
relationship with Central Asia is bilateral. "It is easy for
India to 'piggy-back' off of what is already happening in the
SCO." Future projects with the organization depend upon how
the six member countries see the group evolving, he said.
The security of transmission lines through a
still-to-be-determined electrical corridor is of critical
importance to India, according to Bhagwati.

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Energy and Military Projects with Central Asia
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3. (C) Bhagwati said that Central Asia needs to diversify
its commercial relationships in order to meet its energy
needs and supply the needs of others in the region. He
indicated that India invests somewhat in Kazakhstan and
Tajikistan, and has cultural centers in Uzbekistan. The only
capital he hasn't yet visited in the region is Ashgebat, he
said, and he plans to visit in October.


4. (C) At the request of Tajikistan, the GOI is helping to
re-build a runway at Gissar Airport in Ayni, as well as
training army and air force personnel. The airport had been
"in a shambles," but the new runway is almost complete.
Bhagwati said that the military training program includes a
language lab in the heart of Dushanbe and IT training. He
indicated that the GOI may look at other requests for
assistance from the GOT. He said the GOT had also asked for
helicopters, but after providing two, the GOI "doesn't have
any more to spare."

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Coordination with the U.S.
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5. (C) The GOI would like to see more coordination with the
U.S. on technical issues, Bhagwati said, and is interested in
seeing engineer's assessments and feasibility studies. An
economist trained at MIT, Bhagwati said that he had seen a

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lot of reports from the U.S., but would like to see ones that
are "grounded in reality" and that cover technical issues,
such as where electrical transmission lines could go, their
height, and so on. He felt that the GOI doesn't have a good
sense of what the U.S. is doing in Central Asia on energy,
and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate. PolCouns
offered that DAS Evan Feigenbaum will visit in October to
further explore how to work together on such issues.


6. (C) Bhagwati indicated that the GOI is collaborating in
Dushanbe with an engineering firm called "Eurasia Link,"
which he says is owned by an American who is fluent in
Russian. The firm asked for access of equipment from India,
according to Bhagwati, who said, "we want to help them have a
bigger effect."

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Extremism Not an Issue
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6. (C) Bhagwati opined that, while the encroachment of the
Taliban and the drug trade is of concern in the region, there
is no reason to assume that the area will fall prey to
Islamic extremism any time soon. Majority Sunni Muslims in
the region are "very relaxed," he said, noting that the
tenets of Islam are not adhered to as closely as they are in
other parts of the world. He said that political leaders
don't want a sudden shift to Islamic fundamentalism, and that
"no one wants to see women in Burkas or the chopping off of
hands." In fact, women hold senior positions in government
in Central Asia and their literacy levels are high, according
to Bhagwati--part of the legacy of Soviet rule. He said
there are joint working groups on counter-terrorism in the
region that share and exchange information on a regular basis.

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COMMENT
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7. (C) Bhagwati predictably portrayed the SCO and India's
role in it as benign. He has traveled extensively in Central
Asia, and assesses the likelihood of rapid encroachment by
Islamic fundamentalists as remote. Others in the GOI have
presented a more alarmist view, focusing on the Taliban's
influence in every country on Afghanistan's borders.
Bhagwati presents himself as a future go-to guy for working
with the U.S. on broader energy policy issues in Central
Asia, and looks forward to greater coordination.
MULFORD