INDIA DELIVERS OFFICIAL GLOBAL INITIATIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 001636 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2018 TAGS: PREL PARM KGIT IN SUBJECT: INDIA DELIVERS OFFICIAL GLOBAL INITIATIVE ENDORSEMENT REF: A. NEW DELHI 1611 ¶B. STATE 63159 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires John Davison for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) ¶1. (C) Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Disarmament and International Security (DISA) Director G. Dharmendra gave poloffs June 13 the official letter notification from the Indian government endorsing the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GI). Dharmendra said that the Indian Ambassador to Spain, Sujata Mehta, would like to represent India at the June 16-17 GI Conference in Madrid, and will seek meetings with the U.S. and Russian Ambassadors to Spain. Per Ref B, Poloff welcomed India's endorsement and Ambassador Mehta's participation in the conference. Poloff provided the conference materials conveyed from the Department by email. (Note: These materials were also delivered to MEA/DISA Director Amandeep Singh Gill June 12. End Note.) ¶2. (C) Dharmendra explained that "stovepipes" in the Indian bureaucracy had prevented the government from moving more quickly to join GI. References to Nuclear Weapon States and Non-Nuclear Weapon States in the GI Fact Sheet in 2006 complicated the Indian clearance process, he noted. Moreover, he revealed, MEA officials had assumed that the Cabinet Committee on Security had simply not acted on the GI decision. However, earlier this week the Foreign Secretary found the pending endorsement decision on his desk, which angered him considerably, Dharmendra admitted. ¶3. (C) Poloff asked when the Indian government planned to announce its endorsement. Dharmendra observed that the June 18 meeting between the UPA government and its Left allies on the nuclear initiative will likely mean that any announcement would occur after June 18. He offered to listen to any ideas that the U.S. might have about an official announcement. ¶4. (C) Post has emailed the letter of endorsement to the ISN and SCA Bureaus. DAVISON