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

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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

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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