MEA ASKS U.S. TO PROPOSE DATES FOR PEACEKEEPING

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 001076 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS AND IO/PSC E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2009 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO IN SUBJECT: MEA ASKS U.S. TO PROPOSE DATES FOR PEACEKEEPING WORKING GROUP MEETING, END MAY OR JUNE REF: EHRENDREICH-MROZINSKI EMAILS 3/5/07 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: DCM Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) (C) Post has been in contact several times in recent weeks with different offices within the Ministry of External Affairs, attempting to find out the GOI's plan for hosting the sixth meeting of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group on UN Peacekeeping Operations. (Note: the U.S. hosted the fifth iteration in May 2006; the fourth one was in India in February 2005.) According to Anish Kumar, Deputy Secretary in MEA's United Nations Political Division, India is averse to holding this year's meeting in May due to the Parliament's schedule, which continues until May 22, and is complicated this year by make-or-break local elections in heavily Muslim Uttar Pradesh. Post's appeal to the Americas Division for the earliest possible convening of the group found little support, with Joint Secretary Gaitri Kumar merely defering to UNP. Speaking to the DCM on March 5, MEA Joint Secretary Sanjiv Arora asked that the U.S. side propose specific dates for the meeting in late May or June. Arora added that he is willing to work with one or two dates from the U.S. side, wants this to happen soon, and was eager to know who would chair on the U.S. side. Per ref emails, Post will await guidance from the Department on specific dates to propose. MULFORD