INDIA MAINTAINS MODEST RELATIONS WITH CUBA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001406 SIPDIS FOR WHA/CCA - DMCFARLAND E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2017 TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL CU IN SUBJECT: INDIA MAINTAINS MODEST RELATIONS WITH CUBA REF: A. STATE 52541 B. 07 NEW DELHI 5139 C. STATE 51536 Classified By: Econ Counselor John Davison for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) ¶1. (SBU) In response to the request for information on India's relations with Cuba set out in reftel A, Embassy New Delhi provides the following assessment based on the most recent and readily available information. Bilateral Visits Increase, but Relations Mostly Symbolic Legacy of NAM -------------- ¶2. (C) Post is unaware of any significant efforts the GOI has made to advance democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba in the past six months. Nonetheless, India maintains that democracy promotion is a guiding principle of its foreign policy. Post found no information on significant activity in support of Cuban civil society through the GOI's diplomatic mission in Havana, or in local legislative bodies. ¶3. (C) Three important visits between Cuba and India have been completed in the past six months, and a fourth is currently underway. A nine-member Parliamentary delegation headed by Lok Sabha House Speaker Somnath Chatterjee visited Havana from January 6-10, 2008. It was the first Indian Parliamentary delegation in nineteen years. According to Indian Parliament press releases, the visit was aimed at strengthening India-Cuba relations and reviewing ongoing bilateral cooperation in the fields of science and technology, energy, IT, and sports. The Parliamentarians signaled India's willingness to cancel Cuba's USD 64 million debt during the visit. ¶4. (C) A four-member Cuban delegation of sports experts visited India from February 4-March 12, 2008, as part of the Bilateral Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and India for coordination in the fields of physical education and sports. Four Cuban sports trainers are currently working in India, including a boxing coach training Indian competitors for the 2008 Olympic games. ¶5. (C) On April 3, 2008, Head of the International Department of the Communist Party of Cuba Fernando Remirez D'Estenoz visited India. He met with Indian Lok Sabha House Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to discuss issues such as climate change, rural-urban divide, and terrorism. ¶6. (U) On May 17, 2008, a 19-member Cuban delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Eduardo Escandell Amador arrived for a 12-day visit with the aim of stimulating bilateral trade. The delegation is expected to focus on Cuba's potential to import India-made energy-saving electrical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive spare parts, tires, and engines and expressed the hope that India will resume rice exports in the future. (NOTE: India currently bans the export of rice. END NOTE.) Post has no information about whether any deals have been finalized. ¶7. (U) Cuba and India have a renewable-energy cooperation agreement, signed in 1998 and valid until 2009, to help consolidate and integrate Cuba,s strategies for hydroelectric, wind, thermal and solar power generation. Cuba is the only Latin American nation to have such a pact with India. ¶8. (U) India provides 50 annual scholarships to Cubans under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program, bringing government officials and other nominees to study in the best Indian institutions specializing in rural development, mass communications, small-scale industries, banking, computer technology, management and various other fields. Post is not aware of any other exchange programs between the two countries. Trade Declines Slightly -------------- ¶9. (U) Official two-way trade between India and Cuba decreased from USD 16.79 million in April to December 2006 to USD 13.69 million in the same period in 2007, a decrease of 18 percent. Trade with Cuba represented only 0.005 percent of India's overall trade during this period. India's imports from Cuba decreased by 24 percent in the same period to USD 870,000. The major import products were artificial resins and plastics and pharmaceuticals. The main exports from India to Cuba were pharmaceuticals and chemicals, transport equipment, machinery and instruments, rubber products, and non-ferrous metals. While there are no available quantitative estimates of the volume, the Indian Embassy in Cuba acknowledges that there is substantial trade between the two countries via third countries, especially Spain, Canada, and Panama. ¶10. (U) According to GOI estimates, there were no inflows of foreign direct investment from Cuba in the past six months. Nor has Post found any information about new Indian investments in Cuba in the past six months. Previous investments were laid out in reftel B. No Activities Showing Solidarity with the Cuban People -------------- -------------- ¶11. As per the instructions in reftel C, Post reports that the GOI did not undertake any activities to recognize the May 21 day of solidarity with the Cuban people. Post was unable to arrange for publication the op-ed piece in paragraph 9 of reftel C. Effect on Indo-US Ties -------------- ¶12. (C) The ongoing transformation of US-India relations has improved our ability to engage in frank and open discussion with the GOI on third-country relations. Actions against Indian entities or nationals in US courts for trafficking in confiscated property in Cuba would certainly strike a negative cord among the Indian public and within the GOI leadership. While unlikely to derail the overall positive direction of our bilateral partnership, it would set a note of discord within the relationship. The economic implications of such actions would likely be minimal. MULFORD