INDIA RELUCTANT ON TALIBAN TALKS, CONSULTING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 003003

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ENRG KDEM AF IR PK XD IN
SUBJECT: INDIA RELUCTANT ON TALIBAN TALKS, CONSULTING
AFGHANS ON ELECTION AID, WELCOMES USAID ENERGY PROJECT

REF: A. SECSTATE 108855

B. NEW DELHI 02771

C. NEW DELHI 02986

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


1. (C) Summary: In a 24 November meeting with PolCouns,
Indian Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary
(Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) T.C.A. Raghavan expressed
his government's concern over ISAF members' willingness to
engage the Taliban. Raghavan welcomed a USAID proposal for a
Trilateral Energy Project and was optimistic that a more
concrete plan would be developed for India's assistance to
Afghan elections following the visit to Delhi of an Afghan
election observation team this weekend. End Summary.

India Nervous About Afghans Officially Engaging Taliban
--------------


2. (C) Accompanied by USAID Deputy Director and PolOff,
PolCouns met on 24 November with Ministry of External Affairs
Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) T.C.A.
Raghavan to follow up on Ref A demarche, discuss recent
developments in Raghvan's area of responsibility, and present
a USAID proposal for a trilateral energy project to be
conducted in India to train Afghan power sector officials.
(Note: Comments on Pakistan and Iran are being reported
septel. End Note.) According to Raghavan, the Government of
India feels that some ISAF members' willingness to engage
with the Taliban is a dangerous and unwise approach, and he
added that the Government of Iran shares India's view on this
)ssue. "In India and Iran there is much anxiety about these
talks", Raghavan explained. However, Raghavan admitted that
there is an increasing sense among many Afghans that engaging
the Taliban is a necessary reality and does not symbolize
defeatism, saying certain areas of Afghanistan find "hope" in
dialogue with the Taliban.

Afghan Team to Observe Delhi Elections
--------------


3. (C) Following up on Ref A demarche concerning Indian
contributions to Afghanistan's 2009 elections, PolCouns asked
if the Indian government had put any more thought into how it
could assist. While he did not have specifics for next year,
Raghavan informed PolCouns that a team from the Afghan
Elections Commission would be visiting India on November 30
to observe state assembly elections in Delhi. The plan was
then for the visiting Afghan observers to see what was needed
to successfully run a large scale election, then to consider
what they would want to request from the Indian government in
terms of material/technical support. The Joint Secretary was
hopeful that details regarding India's contribution to Afghan
elections could be worked out during the team's visit.

Raghavan Welcomes Trilateral Energy Project
--------------


4. (SBU) The Deputy Director of USAID briefed Raghavan on a
proposed capacity building project for Afghanistan Power
Sector Executives. The South Asia Regional Initiative for
Energy (SARI/E) is proposing to formalize a tripartite
partnership between Afghanistan, India, and the United
States. The goal of this long term program is to accelerate
the pace of power sector reforms in Afghanistan and to help
build technical and managerial capacity in the planning and
implementation of sectors, specifically in the area of power
distribution management and reforms.


5. (SBU) Raghavan reacted positively to this proposal and
welcomed USAID's efforts. Pointing to what he described as
considerable Indian investments in the power sector in
Afghanistan, and specifically mentioning the transmission
line and the Salma dam hydroelectric project, Raghavan agreed
that there should be capacity building programs alongside
specific projects. In addition to the direct financial

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investments in energy projects, he explained, it is necessary
to train the people who will be working as operations
managers so that operation can begin immediately following
the projects' completion. Raghavan expressed minor concern
about the possibility of this project competing with GOI,s
existing programs and said this would easily be avoided if it
was coordinated with GOI as planned.


6. (U) Both USAID Missions in Afghanistan and India have
bilateral agreements with their respective counterpart
Governments for supporting them in power sector executive
training programs. Under this new tripartite agreement,
India would host 250 Afghan training participants every year
over the next 3 to 5 years, with technical support from USAID
through SARI/E.


7. (U) A five-member Afghan team led by the Deputy Minister
of Power and Energy will be visiting India 1-7 December with
the hopes of setting the stage for discussing the modalities
of the program and the proposed trilateral agreement.
WHITE