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
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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