NEW INDIAN DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 002449

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR IN
SUBJECT: NEW INDIAN DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
SIGNALS OPENNESS TOWARD BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP IN INITIAL
COURTESY CALL

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary. In an initial courtesy call on incoming
Deputy National Security Advisor L.K. Ponappa, Charge
highlighted U.S. priorities for the bilateral security
relationship and invited Ponappa to visit Washington at the
earliest convenience to begin building contacts with USG
counterparts. Ponappa admitted to being new to the job and
in training mode, but signaled an openness toward building
the bilateral relationship. End Summary.

India's First Female DNSA
--------------


2. (C) Charge paid a courtesy call on May 23 on new Deputy
National Security Advisor (DNSA) Leela K. Ponappa. The first
Indian woman to be appointed as the Deputy National Security
Advisor, Ponappa is the former Ambassador to the Netherlands
and Thailand, as well as a career Foreign Service Officer
with extensive experience in South Asia. She also served as
Consul at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco 1979-82. She
took over her DNSA responsibilities just three weeks prior to
Charge's call, and admitted that she was still in
familiarization mode, trying to learn the structure and
issues of her new office.

Just Getting Started On The Job
--------------


3. (C) Charge encouraged Ponappa to travel to the U.S. at her
earliest convenience to meet key counterparts, noting that
the personal relationships between the Indian National
Security Advisor's office and U.S. National Security
Advisor's office have facilitated resolving several sticky
issues over the past several years. Ponappa was
non-committal about traveling, pointing out that she is still
in the introductory phase to her job, but said she would look
into the possibility in the coming months.

Charge Pushes For Action On Key Issues
--------------


4. (C) Turning to substantive issues, Charge highlighted U.S.
priorities for advancing the bilateral relationship, focusing
on opportunities for closer coordination in defense,
counterterrorism, civil-nuclear cooperation, and regional
issues. Charge brought particular attention to some of the
functional agreements which are pending and reportedly
awaiting National Security Council Secretariat (of which
Ponappa serves as the Secretary) approval, including the
Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of
Agreement (CISMOA) and Logistics Support Agreement (LSA). He
also pressed for Indian action on participation in the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),Global Initiative to
Combat Nuclear Terrorism, and Counterterrorism Information
Sharing Working Group. It was evident that Ponappa did not
have a deep understanding of the issues, however her
engagement reflected an openness and willingness to be
cooperative with us.


5. (C) Ponappa and the Charge discussed the volatile
situation in Pakistan (Ponappa served as MEA's Pakistan
Undersecretary from 1976-79). Both agreed that our national
interests lie in stability in Pakistan, and Charge described
the helpful role Pakistan has played in the Global War On
Terror. Similarly, Ponappa agreed with Charge's assessment
that India has an acute interest in Afghanistan's successful
reconstruction, pointing out that India's relationship with
Kabul goes back millennia.


6. (C) Ponappa ended the meeting by thanking the Charge for
bringing to her attention the key issues at hand in the
bilateral relationship, and reiterated her commitment to
working closely with us to build upon the positive momentum
created in recent years.
PYATT