BOUCHER AND PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTRY REVIEW BILATERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 000277 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER ECON ETRD EINV PK SUBJECT: BOUCHER AND PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTRY REVIEW BILATERAL AGENDA AND REGIONAL ISSUES (U) Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On January 12, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher held back-to-back meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan and Additional Secretary Shahid Kamal. Khan stressed that improved intelligence cooperation between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the U.S. was critical, as was repatriating Pakistan's remaining Afghan refugees. He said there was little real progress from recent Pakistan-India discussions, noting that India's loosening restrictions on movement of people and goods would be a positive, confidence building measure. Finally, Khan emphasized that some U.S. requirements for agreeing to a Bilateral Investment Treaty were "onerous" for Pakistan, and he believed concluding a Free Trade Agreement was the better way to go. Additional Secretary Kamal stressed similar points on the advantages of linking the investment treaty with a Free Trade Agreement, as well as Pakistan's eagerness to move the bilateral economic agenda forward. Pakistan is anxious to intensify energy discussions, particularly on coal. Pakistan is looking forward to the upcoming bilateral Science and Technology consultations in Washington, and hopes that joint funding of projects can be agreed on. Kamal requested additional U.S. help in setting up the Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence in Karachi. End Summary ¶2. (U) On January 12, Boucher, accompanied by Ambassador Crocker, Senior Advisor Hayden, and Deputy Econ Counselor (notetaker) met with MFA Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan, and held a separate follow-on meeting with MFA Additional Secretary Shahid Kamal. ¶3. (C) Afghanistan: Khan said there were many sensitive issues in this sphere, but that paramount importance should be placed on improving cooperation, coordination and information-sharing between Pakistan, Afghanistan and U.S. intelligence entities. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan need to do more to tighten up cross-border movements; Pakistan cannot do it alone. Comments to the media by Afghan officials who regularly blame Afghanistan's heightened insurgency on Pakistan are not helpful, Khan stressed. ¶4. (C) Khan said the time had come for the remaining Afghan refugees to be repatriated. The camps are increasingly becoming hot spots for trouble-making extremists. As the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will not push for expeditious returns (preferring that Afghans only return "voluntarily"),Pakistan would appreciate U.S. assistance with the repatriation process. It would be ideal if the refugees were to return to their homes; if not, it would be preferable to have them living in Afghanistan as internally displaced persons than to remain in Pakistan, he said. Boucher agreed that an accelerated return of refugees to Afghanistan was desirable, but that a "pull factor" was also needed to draw them back, adding the U.S. would seek to be helpful. ¶5. (C) Khan said organizing the Pak-Afghan jirgas would take time; they cannot be arranged quickly, despite the U.S. and Pakistan desire for progress. Boucher confirmed that the U.S. would indeed like to see the process begin, and that having the two commissions meet soon would be helpful. ¶6. (C) Pakistan-India: Khan said the ongoing disagreement over Siachen Glacier is frustrating. When the two sides met in November, Pakistan provided specific suggestions for moving forward; to date the Indian side has not responded. Pakistan is willing to meet at short notice, once they receive a signal from India, Khan added. While India has provided some intelligence on terrorism recently, Khan said real confidence building measures will happen via other avenues - such as India's reducing its restrictions on movement of people and goods. Pakistan now allows unrestricted access to nearly 1100 Indian products. Boucher replied that liberalizing trade was also critical to improving regional economic integration, and regional economic growth. ¶7. (SBU) Strategic Dialogue: Boucher informed Khan that the U.S. would like to hold the next bilateral Strategic Dialogue meetings in ISLAMABAD 00000277 002 OF 003 Islamabad on January 24-25. Khan regretted that he could not host the Strategic Dialogue talks on these dates; his next available dates would be in late March. Science and Technology collaboration, and energy cooperation (especially with regard to Pakistan's coal reserves) were areas with particularly strong potential, Khan added. Boucher stressed that the U.S. views this dialogue as an important component of our relationship and that the March time frame would allow greater preparation time, and ensure additional progress on the various Dialogue pillars. ¶8. (SBU) Bilateral Investment Treaty and Free Trade Agreement: Khan said the provisions required by the U.S. to conclude a Bilateral Investment Treaty with Pakistan would be "onerous," particularly the arbitration clauses. Pakistan believes accepting the U.S. language could lead to a rash of spurious claims by U.S. investors, which Pakistan would be forced to spend time and money defending itself against. Khan continued that Pakistan would greatly prefer to sign a Free Trade Agreement rather than a Bilateral Investment Treaty. Boucher cautioned that concluding a Free Trade Agreement would likely not prove doable in the near-term, "so don't put many eggs in that basket." It would be difficult for the U.S. to finalize a Free Trade Agreement if we cannot even reach agreement on a Bilateral Investment Treaty, Boucher continued, as our trade agreements normally include most elements of an investment treaty. ¶9. (U) In his meeting with the Additional Secretary, Boucher told Kamal that Assistant Secretary Daniel Sullivan would likely lead the U.S. delegation to the next Economic Dialogue meeting. Khan responded that the Finance Ministry was eager to host Sullivan in Pakistan soon. ¶10. (SBU) Energy Issues: Boucher mentioned that the U.S. was anxious to start the work of the three energy-related working groups via Digital Video Conference. Khan responded that the Planning Commission was organizing these working groups for their side and that they had high hopes the Coal/Fossil Energy Working Group could facilitate exploitation of Pakistan's Thar coal reserves. ¶11. (SBU) Education and Science and Technology Dialogues: Boucher said the Education Dialogue appeared to be going well, with the Fulbright Program a shining example. Khan agreed education was a fertile area for cooperation, and mentioned that a Pakistani delegation would be visiting Florida's community college system. Khan also recalled that at his recent meeting with Assistant Secretary Dina Powell they had discussed student exchanges -- in both SIPDIS directions. Boucher added exchanges, including at the high school level, should be encouraged. Kamal then mentioned the Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence, which is to be established at the Institute for Business Administration in Karachi. Pakistan is looking to its business community to provide significant financial backing, but Kamal asked if the U.S. could help by "training the trainers" in the U.S. (at U.S. expense) to create a cadre of professionals to help launch the Centre. [Note: Embassy Islamabad has been very clear in the past that the USG's contribution was limited to USAID's funding of the feasibility study, which was completed in December. End Note] ¶12. (SBU) Kamal said Pakistan was planning for the upcoming bilateral Science and Technology meetings in Washington, following up on U.S. National Science Foundation Director Bement's October visit to Islamabad. The Pakistan side will want to discuss the issue of funding for cooperative efforts at this meeting, noting that Pakistan is willing to contribute, but wants "the U.S. side to put in its share of the funding." Boucher responded that the U.S. would look at existing sources of funding as well as money for such items as exchanges, experts' travel, teachers, etc. Kamal mentioned they had given Dr. Bement a list of projects for joint implementation and funding, which Boucher said we would study. ¶13. (SBU) Free Trade Agreement: Like Secretary Khan, Kamal asked about the prospects for signing a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. Boucher said the U.S. was ready to hold preliminary/exploratory talks, under the rubric of the Trade Facilitation Study Group [Note: ISLAMABAD 00000277 003 OF 003 as agreed in October by USTR and the Ministry of Commerce at the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement discussions. End Note]. We could discuss the key elements and requirements of a Free Trade Agreement and what actions they would require by Pakistan. Boucher emphasized, however, that these discussions would not imply a commitment to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement; concluding a Bilateral Investment Treaty would be the best way forward to an eventual Free Trade Agreement. (U) This cable was coordinated with Senior Adviser Caitlin Hayden. Crocker