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.

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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.

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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.

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CHINA
--------------

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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