NIRUPAMA RAO: A POISED NEW FOREIGN SECRETARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001488

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: NIRUPAMA RAO: A POISED NEW FOREIGN SECRETARY


1. (U) SUMMARY: Indian President Patil appointed Nirupama
Rao as India,s second female Foreign Secretary. She will
take office at the end of the month. A trusted East Asia
hand, Rao is a veteran diplomat, known for her poised
demeanor; she most recently served as Indian Ambassador to
China. Rao will be India,s principal foreign policy
official and actively engaged on high-profile issues, from
the implementation of the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Initiative
to India,s bid for a permanent UN Security Council (UNSC)
seat.

The Selection of the Foreign Secretary
--------------

2. (U) The Foreign Secretary, as the bureaucratic head of
the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA),acts as India,s principal foreign policy
official. The selection of an Indian Ambassador to China (a
sensitive post for New Delhi) as Foreign Secretary has NOW
become a trend; her immediate predecessor, Shiv Shankar
Menon, and three other predecessors also served as New
Delhi,s representative in Beijing. President Pratibha
Patil,s announcement of her appointment as Foreign Secretary
came as no surprise to Embassy sources. Rao will serve as
Foreign Secretary only until December 2010, at which point
she faces mandatory retirement, per Indian law, at the age of

60.

Rao,s Likely Focus
--------------

3. (U) India,s number one foreign policy priority -- its bid
for a permanent seat on the Security Council -- will be an
immediate focus. With Prime Minister Singh,s renewed calls
for changes to an "anachronistic" global architecture during
the June 2009 G-8 plus 5 talks in Italy, Rao will continue to
articulate India,s quest for a UNSC seat in the run up to
the U.N. General Assembly meetings in September. Indian
media analysts hope that Rao,s previous experience working
with the Chinese government might assist India in obtaining
China,s support for an Indian seat.


4. (U) Although the Indian media suggests that Nirupama Rao
will play an important role in Indo-Pakistani relations,
historically this sensitive bilateral relationship has been
conducted from the Prime Minister,s Office and Cabinet.
Known as a tough negotiator, Rao will play a key role in the
implementation of the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Initiative.

A History of High-Profile Assignments
--------------

5. (U) Serving in several high-profile IFS positions from
1993 to the present day, Nirupama Rao has weathered changes
in India,s government politics and foreign policy. In 2006,
Rao was appointed Indian Ambassador,s to China and deftly
soothed the PRC,s anger after Tibetan protesters scaled the
walls of the Chinese Embassy in Delhi during the run-up to
the 2008 Olympics. Analysts contend that a certain level of
trust between the Chinese and Indian governments was cemented
during her tenure, as evidenced by the Chinese government
allowing Rao to inaugurate an agricultural training center in
the province of Ningxia - this is the first example of the
Indian government funding a poverty alleviation project in
China. Also during her tenure, bilateral trade between India
and China doubled, briefly surpassing trade between India and
the US, historically India,s largest trading partner.
Nirupama Rao facilitated
the opening of an office in Beijing by the Indian Ministry of
Tourism and Culture, tripling the number of people traveling
between the two countries.


6. (U) Prior to serving as the first Indian female High
Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2006, Rao cemented her
reputation of unflappability as the first spokeswoman of the
MEA from 2001 to 2004. She was well-received as the public
face of the IFS, with the media applauding her "very French"
manner of using appropriate words to convey a careful, and
eloquent tone. Rao served as Deputy Chief of Mission in

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Russia from 1998 to 2001. India,s May 1998 nuclear tests
sparked a period of turbulent foreign relations, however
Russia's ties to India remained strong; the Russian Foreign
Minister was the first foreign official to visit India after
the nuclear tests. Rao also served as the Indian Embassy's
Minister of Press in Washington D.C. from 1995 to 1998 and as
the Indian Ambassador to Peru from 1993 to 1995. Policy
experts regard Rao as an East Asia hand, largely due to her
tenure as MEA Joint Secretary of East Asia, as Director of
the China desk from 1982 to 1984, and as Ambassador to China.

The Poet Diplomat
--------------

7. (U) Rao was born on December 6, 1950, to a Hindu family
in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. She earned a Masters Degree in
English Literature from Marathwada University and served as a
Fellow at the Centre for International Affairs (predecessor
of the Weatherhead Centre) at Harvard University from 1992 to

1993. Rao was also a Distinguished International Executive
in Residence at the University of Maryland from 1999 to 2000.
The local media has given much coverage to the "poet
diplomat" Rao, citing her 2004 anthology of poetry, Rain
Rising. Rao is married to Sudhakar Rao, a senior Indian
Administrative Service officer, currently serving as Chief
Secretary in Karnataka. The couple has two sons, Nikhilesh
(31) and Kartikeya (21).

"No Glass Ceiling"
--------------

8. (U) Rao graduated from the same 1973 class of the IFS as
Meira Kumar, the first female Speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower
house of Parliament) (Ref). Like Kumar, Rao is a pioneer for
women in India, serving as the first female spokesperson of
the MEA and the first female Indian Ambassador to China. The
IFS has responded to charges of past gender-based
discrimination by advancing female officers to senior
positions. However, commenting to the media on her
experience in the IFS, Rao responded emphatically: "I have
never encountered any glass ceiling."
ROEMER