Secretary Clinton meets Indian Prime Minister

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 124358 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2019 TAGS: OVIP CLINTON HILLARY PREL ECON ENRG MASS IN, CH, PK, AF, IR SUBJECT: Secretary Clinton meets Indian Prime Minister Singh ¶1. Classified by SCA Assistant Secretary Robert O. Blake, Jr. Reason: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶2. November 24, 2009; 5:00 PM; Washington, DC ¶3. Participants: U.S. The Secretary Under Secretary Bill Burns Under Secretary Robert Hormats SCA Assistant Secretary Robert O. Blake, Jr. Ambassador Timothy Roemer S Staff Huma Abedin S Staff Jake Sullivan Donn Titus (SCA Notetaker) India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan Special Envoy Shyam Saran Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao Ambassador to the United States Meera Shankar Joint Secretary Pankaj Saran (Prime Minister's Office) Joint Secretary Gaitri Kumar (Ministry of External Affairs) I.S. Chaturvedi (Personal Secretary to the Prime Minister) Virander Paul, Director of the Prime Minister's Office Political Counselor Naveen Srivastava (notetaker) ¶4. (C) SUMMARY. The Secretary and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a cordial meeting that extended well beyond its scheduled time on November 24. They discussed regional issues, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. The Secretary promoted U.S. defense sales to India and sought Indian support for an IAEA Board of Governors resolution on Iran's nuclear program. She also encouraged Singh to remove domestic caps on foreign direct investment and to cooperate on efforts to combat Trafficking in Persons. They agreed to work toward a resolution of nuclear reprocessing and export licensing control issues for full implementation of the Civil Nuclear Initiative. The Secretary and Minister Krishna pledged to continue their Strategic Dialogue process, which had produced during the PM's visit Memoranda of Understanding on Energy, Agriculture, and Counter-terrorism. The Secretary and Singh also underscored the need to address food security and water scarcity issues in order to usher in a second Green Revolution. END SUMMARY. ¶5. (C) Prime Minister Singh began the meeting by describing his private interaction with President Obama earlier that day, noting three major areas of discussion: Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. He looked forward to the President's future visit to India and to continuing to build upon the bilateral relationship. -------------- AFGHANISTAN -------------- ¶6. (C) Singh said that if the international community did not stay the course in Afghanistan, terrorist elements would conclude that they had defeated the Soviets and now the United States in Afghanistan, which would have "disastrous consequences" for peace and security in the Middle East, Central and South Asia. Singh noted that the new government in Afghanistan had its shortcomings (a poor governance record and corruption),but it was important for the international community to support the new government. Singh added that it would take time for democracy to take hold in Afghanistan, and there would only be modest returns in the short term. Referring to the McChrystal report, Singh said he was not an expert on such things, but any premature exit would have "severe consequences." ¶7. (C) The Secretary said that President Obama would STATE 00124358 002 OF 004 SUBJECT: Secretary Clinton meets Indian Prime Minister Sin soon announce his decision on Afghanistan. We want to create stability in Afghanistan to prevent the spread of the Taliban and the use of the country to launch terror attacks. She thanked Singh for the positive role that India had played in Afghanistan and with President Karzai. She noted that Karzai's inauguration speech demonstrated a stronger sense of commitment, that we would work with him and that India should also continue to work with Karzai. The Secretary also said that Afghanistan's stability would not improve without Pakistan taking concerted action against the Taliban. We were encouraged by Pakistan's efforts to go after the Taliban in Swat and South Waziristan, but Pakistani authorities needed to go after all terrorists that found refuge on Pakistani territory. The Secretary added that we would continue to encourage prosecution of those responsible for the Mumbai attacks. ¶8. (C) Expressing appreciation for Indian efforts in the region, the Secretary recognized the unstable political situation in Pakistan and welcomed India's ideas on Pakistan. She said we would continue to share information with India and Pakistan to prevent attacks and to help bring about the prosecution of those responsible for the Mumbai attacks. She added that the Pakistan view is colored by its perception of India, despite the clear evidence of attacks within the country on police stations, military establishments and universities that demonstrate that Pakistan's greatest threat is internal. She said that the more India could reassure Pakistan, the better it would be for everyone concerned. ¶9. (C) Singh noted that U.S. intelligence reports on Balochistan should prove to Pakistan that India is only interested in helping Afghanistan. Singh added that India could not realize its full growth potential without peace and tranquility in the region. -------------- PAKISTAN -------------- ¶10. (C) Singh noted that American officials could tell Pakistani officials that they could safely remove all Pakistani troops from the Line-of-Control without worry. India's forces were stationed far from the border and were no threat to Pakistan. Singh acknowledged that in the past, including during the Kargil war in 1999, Pakistan might have had cause for concern about India's troop positions, but circumstances had changed. Singh added that quiet dialogue had worked well in the past and could be re-established if Pakistan gave up "using terror as an instrument of state policy." ¶11. (C) Citing the United States' "enormous" influence with Pakistan, Singh asked for U.S. help with the Government of Pakistan, which he said had not taken "effective action" against those who used Pakistani soil to launch attacks against India. India also wants the U.S. to impress upon the Government of Pakistan that it has an obligation to bring the Mumbai attackers to justice. Singh added that the international pressure on Pakistan has been diluted recently and that known terrorists like Hafiz Saeed are allowed to "roam freely." Singh added that the Chinese were holding up a UN 1267 sanctions declaration regarding Saeed and Masood Azhar. ¶12. (C) Singh said that everyday he receives intelligence reports authored by the USG that refer to threats to India from Pakistan-based groups, specifically mentioning the reports from the Headley case regarding possible military targets in India. Singh said India was ready to talk to Pakistan on all things that have bedeviled the two countries for the last 50-60 years, but cannot do so when it is worried about terrorist attacks. The Secretary noted the good relationship that had been formed between both our governments' National Security Advisors and suggested that they work together to determine how best to deliver the message to Pakistan about the priority to address its internal threats. -------------- CHINA -------------- STATE 00124358 003 OF 004 ¶13. (C) India too wants to see the peaceful rise of China, Singh said. He noted that they had been engaged for the past five years through special representatives to discuss border issues. Both sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquility, but Singh noted India was bothered by the recent "assertiveness" of China. The Prime Minister also noted that the U.S.-China joint statement had created the impression in India that there would be "outside interference" in South Asia, which would not be acceptable. ¶14. (C) The Secretary responded that we wanted good India-China relations and that we wanted China to be successful without acting as a threat to its neighbors and the rest of the world. We also had an interest in encouraging China to persuade Pakistan to confront internal threats. We would also look to India for guidance in the region, she said. The Secretary added that China's interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan were mostly economic, citing its copper mine operations in Afghanistan as a prime example. -------------- -------------- DEFENSE, CIVIL NUCLEAR AND EXPORT LICENSING ISSUES -------------- -------------- ¶15. (C) The Secretary welcomed recent Indian purchases of U.S. military equipment and said we should explore ways to create more trade, noting as an example that Boeing and Lockheed were strong competitors for the Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft. The PM said that India had reviewed its defense procurement system and was seeking to broaden its base of suppliers. The U.S. could play an increasingly important role in India's defense modernization. Singh noted that sometimes, as in the case of the Civil Nuclear Agreement, Indian officials thought technology could be immediately transferred after an agreement was signed. ¶16. (C) Singh said he was pleased to hear President Obama agree to review U.S. export licensing controls regarding India. The Secretary agreed, noting that Under Secretary Burns was working on the matter, as well as on resolution of outstanding issues associated with reprocessing negotiations. She said the two sides should be able to come up with a check list of what both sides need to do to avoid any misperceptions. ¶17. (C) National Security Advisor Narayanan noted three issues holding up the reprocessing talks; India wants approval for reprocessing at multiple facilities, has concerns about our requirements for security inspections and wants assurances regarding suspension of technology transfers. Under Secretary Burns said that we were looking for ways to be more flexible as part of our review, and we would ask for Indian flexibility on a number of issues in return. Singh responded that it was important to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. -------------- IRAN -------------- ¶18. (C) The Secretary asked Singh for India's support with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors resolution that would be discussed during their meetings in Vienna November 26-27. She said that the P5+1 had agreed on the resolution, and we hoped the world community would show its support. Singh responded that India was not in favor of another nuclear weapon state in the region and had made that clear to the Iranians. -------------- TRADE AND INVESTMENT -------------- ¶19. (C) The Secretary encouraged Singh to remove foreign direct investment (FDI) caps in the finance and defense industries. She said that U.S. industry was very eager for that to happen. Under Secretary Hormats, a long- time friend of Singh's, said he would be willing to work on the issue. Singh said that the India would raise the limit on FDI in pensions from 26 to 49 percent in the next budget session of Parliament. He said that he would see how raising the cap on pensions worked before STATE 00124358 004 OF 004 -------------- TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS -------------- ¶20. (SBU) The Secretary mentioned our annual report on Trafficking in Persons and said we had some ideas to share with India. Foreign Secretary Rao said that she had spoken with Under Secretary Otero about Trafficking in Persons and that she looked forward to receiving U.S. ideas on the matter. -------------- STRATGIC DIALOGUE -------------- ¶21. (C) Wrapping up the discussion the Secretary noted that she was pleased with the Strategic Dialogue in general, how we were listening to one another, and singled out the signing of the Energy Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Singh said he was pleased with the Agriculture MOU that he described as an umbrella agreement in which we could work together on some pressing issues, such as food security and water scarcity. Singh added that agriculture cooperation was of the "greatest significance," because 65 percent of Indians depended on agriculture for their employment. He recalled that the U.S. helped India's first generation Green Revolution. India had achieved food self-sufficiency; now it was time to work with the United States on a second Green Revolution. He concluded by stating how very pleased he was with the visit. He thanked the Secretary for laying the foundation for the recent advances in the bilateral relationship, in her various roles as First Lady, U.S. Senator, India Caucus founder and Secretary of State, and for taking the relationship to its next, higher level. CLINTON