FOREIGN MINISTRY WELCOMES NEW CHARGE D'AFFAIRES

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000706 E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2019 TAGS: AMGT KNNP PARM PREL SCUL IN PK SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTRY WELCOMES NEW CHARGE D'AFFAIRES REF: NEW DELHI 674 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires A. Peter Burleigh for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: During a friendly April 6 tour d'horizon with Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, Charge d'Affaires Burleigh raised the "unfinished business" of the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative and End-Use Monitoring, protested Indian tactics which have delayed construction of Mumbai's new Consular Compound, and outlined opportunities for the relationship during the next few months. Menon welcomed a proposed visit by Under Secretary Burns, stressed India's commitment to concluding a Technology Safeguards Agreement, and articulated GoI worries about the future of Pakistan. Reftel reports on Charge's demarche to Menon regarding North Korea's missile launch. In an earlier meeting, Joint Secretary (Americas) Gaitri Kumar expressed appreciation for Special Representative Holbrooke's commitment to transparency and consultation with India. She also described how the Election Commission's Model Code of Conduct has caused the GoI to delay announcing a new educational partnership. End summary. Relationship in "good hands" -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Welcoming the new Charge, Foreign Secretary Menon expressed confidence that the U.S. and GoI have "enough stakeholders" in the bilateral relationship to ensure that differences can be resolved. "The relationship is in good hands" and very productive, he stated, adding that it is far easier now than three years ago to work through problems. The Indian media still has a tendency to stereotype the relationship and insist that in every diplomatic exchange there are winners and losers, but that is a manageable challenge. After Menon welcomed a possible mid-June visit by Under Secretary Burns, the Charge urged that we use the visit as a marker, seeking to resolve some outstanding issues before, break logjams during the visit if necessary, and tee up a future visit by the Secretary by clearing away nagging problems in advance. Unfinished business -------------- ¶3. (C) The Charge urged swift GoI action on remaining items from the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative. India must: a) bring its Safeguards Agreement into force and file its declaration of facilities; b) announce reactor park sites for U.S. companies; and c) enact liability protection. Menon added that, on a fourth issue, ISN's Richard Stratford was in touch with his Indian interlocutor, Joint Secretary Gitesh Sarma, who had prepared all the documentation needed to begin formal consultations on a reprocessing arrangement. Stating that liability legislation was before the Indian cabinet, Menon then explained that India's Model Code of Conduct for the upcoming parliamentary elections prevented an immediate announcement of the reactor sites reserved for U.S. companies. "Every state" wants to host a U.S. company, he said, but a political choice must be made between five competing states. He confirmed that Andhra Pradesh would host one American reactor park and that West Bengal was not among the five other states under consideration for the second site. ¶4. (C) On End-Use Monitoring, Menon repeated the formulation he used with Acting PDUSD(P) Verga on March 11: words must be found that meet both U.S. legal needs and India's political imperatives. He predicted that it would be difficult to conclude the matter in time for Under Secretary Burns' visit, as a new Indian government will have taken office only a few days prior. However, early discussions could possibly produce language that would have the agreement ready for presentation to India's new political leadership. (Note: in a subsequent conversation with PolCouns, Joint Secretary Kumar insisted that India was willing to allow inspections, but seeks language that is not "unilateral." She said the GoI accepted the concept that the U.S. "retains the right" to inspect. End note.) Mumbai New Consulate Compound and New York Tax case -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Charge protested GoI linkage between India's "theoretical" problem with payment of taxes on its New York mission and the "real, expensive" delays in construction of the U.S.' New Consulate Compound (NCC) in Mumbai. Describing in general terms his discussion with Under Secretary for Management Kennedy, the Charge said the Department was considering at high levels the assertion of executive authority in the New York tax case to head off a legal challenge. However, more countries than India were involved and time was needed to resolve the matter internally. Meanwhile, the government of Maharashtra had stopped issuing construction licenses for the NCC and is threatening to cut off access to utilities and deny us a final occupany permit. Menon promised to follow up with MEA's Chief of Protocol. Commercial Space Cooperation: technical talks needed -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Regarding a pending Technology Safeguards Agreement that would permit India and the U.S. to cooperate in the launch of U.S.-licensed spacecraft, Menon said a technical discussion is needed. Joint Secretary Kumar confirmed that a digital video-conference is pending. Menon continued that the GoI distinguished between commercial undertakings and instances where U.S. clearance would be required to launch a third-country satellite containing U.S. components. Loss of faith in Pakistan's future -------------- ¶7. (C) A former High Commissioner in Islamabad, Menon lamented that his friends and interlocutors -- for the first time -- had begun to lose faith in Pakistan's ability to recover from its current turmoil. "This is more than just a policy problem" for India, he asserted. After complimenting the President's Afghanistan-Pakistan Strategic Review, Menon said India "will not be shy" about expressing its views to visiting Special Representative Richard Holbrooke on April 8. Model Code of Conduct dictates delay in announcement of Ambedkar Chair at Columbia University -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Joint Secretary Kumar explained that, while most governmental activities continue uninterrupted during the parliamentary election season, certain announcements must be delayed until after mid-May. As an example, she told the Charge that Columbia University's proposal for a $3.5 million Ambedkar chair, named for the Indian Dalit leader who studied at Columbia, cannot be announced until after the elections. While the GoI would have preferred an announcement on Ambedkar's April 14 birth anniversary, it has asked Columbia for a joint announcement later. Kumar described the arrangement with Columbia as "consonant with the Prime Minister's vision of educational exchanges." BURLEIGH