ALL SMILES: INDIAN PRESIDENT VISITS BURMA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000356 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON EAID BM IN SUBJECT: ALL SMILES: INDIAN PRESIDENT VISITS BURMA REF: A. RANGOON 325 ¶B. RANGOON 290 ¶C. NEW DELHI 1614 ¶D. 03 RANGOON 1452 RANGOON 00000356 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: P/E Chief W. Patrick Murphy for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: For the second week in a row, a regional head of state visited Burma and allowed the ruling generals to bask in perceived legitimacy. Indian President Kalam's March 8-11 visit was the first-ever to Burma by an Indian head of state. The two countries concluded MOUs on petroleum cooperation, Buddhist exchange programs, and remote sensing. India extended additional assistance for transportation and agricultural projects. Local sources reported that Kalam's substantive talks were devoid of any serious expression of Indian concern over political reform or human rights in Burma. Instead, the regime delivered a standard pitch on its "road map to a disciplined democracy." According to local journalists, the Indian President apparently endorsed the sham process as meaningful and acceptable. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam visited Burma March 8-11, the first-ever visit of an Indian president. He was the most senior Indian official since the November 2003 visit of Vice President Shekhawat (ref D). Kalam visited Burma at the personal invitation of SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe, who made his own state visit to India in 2004. According to local sources, the Kalam visit was initially scheduled for late 2006, but India moved up the date under intense GOB pressure, prompted by an SPDC desire to distract concerns over Burma expressed at the UN Security Council and at the ASEAN Summit (ref A). ¶3. (SBU) Similar to Indonesian President Yudhoyono's recent trip to Burma (ref A),Kalam's three-day stay, described by the GOB as a "goodwill visit," comprised little but ceremony and tourism. His itinerary included visits to the Shwedagon Pagoda, the tomb of the last Mughal Emperor of India (exiled to Rangoon by the British in the 1850s),a lecture at Rangoon University (where he fielded such planted questions as "How do you enjoy life?"),a meeting with members of the Indian business community, and a side trip to Mandalay. While in Mandalay, Kalam presented cash donations to the GOB's "Department for the Promotion and Propagation of the Sasana (Buddhism)." ¶4. (U) On March 9 Kalam met with Than Shwe at his Parliament offices in central Rangoon. Joining Than Shwe were SPDC Vice Chairman Maung Aye, MOD Chief of General Staff General Thura Shwe Mann, PM General Soe Win, Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Thein Sein, and several ministers. The two heads of state presided over a ceremony to sign MOUs on petroleum cooperation, Buddhist exchange programs, and remote sensing. Than Shwe hosted a state dinner for Kalam that evening, attended by the same group of senior generals. ¶5. (U) According to Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, who spoke with local journalists after Kalam's meeting with Than Shwe, the petroleum MOU "guarantees" the sale of natural gas to India and increases opportunities for Indian companies exploring Burmese gas fields. The state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India and Gas Authority of India Limited are partners in several international consortiums, which include Chinese and Korean companies, that are exploring new gas fields off the coast of Burma's Rakhine State. ¶6. (U) Saran also said that India is providing Burma a $30 million loan to support ongoing transportation and agriculture projects, a $3 million grant to delineate Burma's continental shelf, and $1.3 million for a remote sensing RANGOON 00000356 002.2 OF 002 station in support of the third MOU. COMMENT ¶7. (C) Some Indian press reports suggest that Kalam conveyed concerns over the pace of political reform and the house detention of Aung San Suu Kyi while in Burma. Ethnic Indian businessmen claimed, however, that his substantive talks with regime officials were devoid of any serious expression of concern. As with the Indonesian President, Than Shwe did most of the talking on political matters, delivering his standard lecture on the regime's choreographed "road map to a disciplined democracy." ¶8. (C) Local journalists concluded that Kalam endorsed the road map and welcomed the regime's commitment to return to multi-party democracy, despite the fact that the regime has been making that promise for nearly eighteen years. Indian diplomats have refused to give us or other diplomats any briefing on the visit, in contrast to the Indonesian Ambassador's prompt briefing the day after Yudhoyono's departure. End Comment. VILLAROSA