ITALIAN PM PRODI HAS "SATISFYING" TRIP TO INDIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 000870

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV KNNP PARM TSPL ECON IT IN
SUBJECT: ITALIAN PM PRODI HAS "SATISFYING" TRIP TO INDIA

REF: KOLKATA 00054

Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Summary. Italian Prime Minister Prodi and his
400-person entourage wrapped up their five-day trip to India
on February 15 in New Delhi. The trip was marked by a heavy
emphasis on business opportunities between the two countries
(reftel) and personal rapport between Prodi and Prime
Minister Singh, who also used their meetings to conclude
several fairly anodyne agreements and have "wide-ranging"
discussions. The visit appears to have raised Italy's
profile with India's business community, but it was otherwise
seemingly devoid of substance. End Summary.


Italian Embassy Very Pleased With Visit
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2. (C) Gabriele Annis, head of the Italian Embassy's
Political Section, told Poloff on February 20 that he was
very pleased with the outcome of the trip. He said the visit
"marks a revamp of the relationship," particularly as far as
Italian business interests are concerned. A total of 400
businesspeople accompanied PM Prodi, which Annis believes is
the largest delegation ever sent to India from a foreign
country. His government will determine how successful the
trip was by "registering an increase in the amount of
bilateral commerce." Moving forward, Italy will work to
intensify visits at all levels of government, which has
already been taking place--the governor of Lombardy and
deputy prime minister made separate trips to India last
month. Annis noted that "differences still exist" between
the positions of India and Italy as to future reforms of the
U.N., but also said that both sides at least recognize the
need for change and agree that a wide consensus is needed to
effect reforms. When asked if there were any developments
outside of the media spotlight, Annis said there was "no
secret, hidden progress" in discussions and that all was

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contained in the joint statement released at the trip's
conclusion.


Prodi Finishes India Trip in New Delhi
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3. (U) Following Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's
stops in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Mumbai, he and four
accompanying ministers concluded their five-day trip to India
with a visit to the capital on February 15. Prodi was
reported to have had "wide-ranging talks" with PM Singh, who
has known Prodi since their days in academia and called him a
"friend of India." PM Singh highlighted the immense
potential for economic and business ties between the two
countries, a major theme of Prodi's trip prior to his stop in
New Delhi. Both sides expressed their "commitment to work
toward establishing a strategic partnership." Prodi also met
with President Kalam and Sonia Gandhi, and extended

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invitations to both the Prime Minister and President to visit
Italy.


Cooperation in a Variety of Areas
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4. (U) While in New Delhi, the Italian and Indian
delegations agreed on a two-year cultural exchange program
and signed memoranda of understanding on counter-terrorism
and renewable energy cooperation. Both sides vowed to
continue to cooperate on implementing the U.N. Global
Counter-Terrorism Strategy and work for the adoption of a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism. They
established a Joint Working Group on Infrastructure and will
increase cooperation between their respective space agencies,
the Agenzia Spatiale Italiana and the Indian Space Research
Organization. Following the business-focused trend of the
previous stops in India, the occasion also marked the
inaugural meeting of the Indo-Italian CEOs Forum in New Delhi.


5. (U) On the United Nations, the two sides agreed to hold
regular consultations in order to create a "more efficient"
organization, but were not reported to have reached any
specific plan otherwise. Regarding India's claim to a
permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, Prodi reportedly
said that both countries have the same goal as aspirants for
a role in the "new reality of the world," but he stopped
short of explicitly endorsing an Indian seat. In their joint
statement released on February 15, the two countries
"welcomed the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission
at the U.N." and said they would continue to participate in
the Commission's Organizational Committee.


Italy Offers Lukewarm Support for Civil Nuclear Cooperation
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6. (U) In the joint statement, Italy "recognized the rising
demand for energy in India and the need for international
cooperation in this domain." The two sides "agreed to
continue to discuss the need to adopt forward-looking
approaches to enhance international civil nuclear cooperation
under the appropriate IAEA safeguards with India." The
Italian and Indian delegations also indicated their support
for international disarmament and non-proliferation efforts.


Iran and Afghanistan on Agenda
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7. (U) In a local interview, Prodi noted that Italy is
Iran's biggest trading partner in Europe. (Note: Italy is
also India's fourth-largest trading partner in the EU. End
note.) Prodi expressed disappointment that his predecessor,
Silvio Berlusconi, had not sought inclusion in the EU3's
(France, Germany, and U.K.) negotiations with Iran. When
asked about the possibility of an Indo-Italian initiative to

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resolve the current situation, Prodi replied, "An initiative
can come later. What we must do first is exchange views.
Iran and Afghanistan are both part of India's area of concern
too."



Comment: Satisfaction Despite Specifics
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8. (C) Comment. Annis said that both sides' "deep
satisfaction" with the visit was due in large part to "the
measure of personal warmth between the two prime ministers,"
who have known each other since their days in academia. This
visit helped cement Italy's relatively prominent position
within the EU vis-a-vis India, and strove to keep Italy in
the game as the U.S., Russia, China, and Japan are capturing
more dramatic headlines here. Prodi and his entourage
created positive atmospherics by signing the perfunctory
joint statement calling for closer ties and better economic
relations. The feat provided a welcome distinction to the
maladroit comments of EU Commissioner for External Relations
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, also visiting New Delhi at the time.
She created some controversy here by saying, in a manner
Indians found abrupt, that the EU would like to see India
conclude a safeguards agreement with the IAEA and enter the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty, and the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. While her
statement drastically overreached, it indicates an internal
EU conflict over how far India should go in the
non-proliferation realm. End comment.
MULFORD