This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 009514 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2015 
TAGS: PREL OVIP KNNP TRGY TNGD EAGR ENRG MARR MASS IN
SUBJECT: GOI SIFTING POTUS DELIVERABLE IDEAS, FINALIZING 
NUKE SEPARATION 
 
Classified By: Charge Robert Blake, Jr. for reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Foreign Secretary Saran's priority for his 
Washington visit, aside from presenting India's proposals for 
separation of its nuclear program, is to begin detailed 
consultations on deliverables for the upcoming POTUS visit, 
MEA official Jaishankar told the Charge on December 19. 
Jaishankar also revealed New Delhi has begun evaluating 
progress on each area of the July 18 Joint Statement, and 
distilling specific deliverables proposals from that 
evaluation.  India would like to see specific progress that 
the leaders could announce in the broad areas of energy, 
science and technology, agriculture, defense, health, and 
disaster relief, along with high-profile progress in civil 
nuclear cooperation.  On UN reform, Jaishankar urged US 
engagement at the FS level, noting that our efforts to win 
Indian support for UN management reform and the human rights 
council are hobbled by the perception in parts of the Indian 
Mission and Government that the US has conspired with China 
to thwart India's Security Council ambitions.  End Summary. 
 
FS Focused on POTUS Visit 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) In a meeting with the Charge before departing for 
Washington to accompany Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran to meet 
U/S Burns, MEA Joint Secretary (Americas) S Jaishankar 
sketched out GOI hopes for a potential POTUS visit.  The MEA 
recently had convoked the GOI interagency and tasked each 
ministry with distilling specific proposals for deliverables 
derived from a status review of the July 18 Joint Statement, 
he explained.  MEA will now winnow down the ideas to 
determine what is achievable, and plans to present initial 
ideas to U/S Burns.  This process will be easier than the 
tabula rasa approach of July, he remarked, as the 
deliverables should follow naturally from a critical 
evaluation of how much has been accomplished on the Joint 
Statement goals. 
 
¶3.  (C) Jaishankar outlined three cross-cutting "themes" to 
frame the POTUS visit.  First, that the growing US-India 
relationship is connected with improving the quality of life 
of the Indian people.  Second, the US is interested in 
improving Indian quality of life because of the shared values 
and vision of the two countries.  Third, given those shared 
values, the US-India partnership will have a global impact. 
 
GOI Finalizing Nuke Separation Proposal 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Although December 19 newspapers in New Delhi ran 
stories about India's nuclear separation proposal, Jaishankar 
warned us that the press was only speculating on the final 
proposal that Saran would carry.  He was understandably 
reluctant to be drawn out on the contours of India's plan 
ahead of FS Saran's meeting with U/S Burns, but did confess 
that debate was continuing within the GOI on the precise 
brief to be presented in Washington.  When asked if Saran 
would carry a proposal of "broad principles or specifics" of 
separation, he responded, "Call me tonight."  In a follow-up 
conversation late on December 19, Jaishankar reported that 
deliberations had gone well, "and we are not going just to 
discuss philosophy." 
 
UN Reform 
--------- 
¶5.  (C) After the Charge pointed to the need for a helpful 
public GOI statement on UN reform and the UN Human Rights 
Council, and the thus-far unhelpful remarks by India's 
PermRep in New York that appeared to oppose the US reform 
agenda for the UN, Jaishankar pushed back, saying that the 
Indian Mission in New York cites USUN Mission statements as 
being equally unhelpful at bridging the divide.  The GOI's UN 
departments "have a strong grievance" stemming from USG 
positions on the G-4 UNSC expansion proposal, because the US 
declared that it was working with China to thwart the G-4's 
ambitions, he stated.  The way to break this impasse, 
Jaishankar suggested, is to determine "where we're going" 
regarding US support for India's UNSC objective, so New Delhi 
can impose some discipline on the process.  New York needs to 
see that the US is "not on the other side of the fence" 
regarding India's objective of a permanent UNSC seat before 
it can be brought around on overall reform issues, he said. 
Otherwise India's approach to comprehensive UN reform would 
continue to "drift," lacking the "sense of convergence" with 
the US that exists in other areas. 
 
POTUS Deliverables 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (C) The Joint Secretary suggested that we should focus on 
outlining five or six "clusters" to frame an announcement of 
Presidential deliverables, along with progress in nuclear 
cooperation and democracy promotion.  While each area may not 
have a show-stopping announcement, he explained, if we 
package several "medium sized" announcements in a cluster, 
each would make an impact.  He proposed, in addition to 
whatever could be worked out on civil nuclear cooperation or 
UN reform, a cluster of deliverables in the areas of 
democracy, energy cooperation, science and technology, 
agriculture, health and a combination of disaster relief and 
defense cooperation. 
 
Democracy 
--------- 
 
¶7.  (C) New Delhi is still considering the feasibility of an 
institution dedicated to democracy promotion, the Joint 
Secretary said.  In contrast to the July summit where 
 
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democracy promotion as a principle was announced, the GOI 
would like to have specifics for any third country 
initiatives well before the POTUS visit.  This would allow 
prior consultations with third countries that might be venues 
for democracy promotion programs, Jaishankar pointed out, so 
that we could announce a particular program at the time of 
the POTUS visit.  Charge noted that Central Asia would be a 
natural possibility given the recent USG efforts to link 
Central and South Asia.  Jaishankar agreed Central Asia is a 
possibility for joint activities, but said MEA would need 
more time to vet the "sensitivities" of starting a democracy 
promotion program in any particular country. 
 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Jaishankar emphasized New Delhi's view that the 
strongest potential deliverable in non-nuclear energy would 
be an announcement of joint development of the FutureGen 
zero-emissions coal-fired power generation plant, organized 
along the joint research model of ITER (International 
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor).  An announcement of this 
type would also silence critics of the US-India relationship 
who complain that other areas of energy potential are being 
neglected in favor of nuclear cooperation, he added. 
Cooperation in hydrocarbons is also possible, he mused, but 
because most participants in that field are private sector it 
would be difficult to conclude any agreements before the 
visit. 
 
Science and Technology 
---------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Jaishankar reported that the GOI is working to 
define specific initiatives in nanotechnology, and in general 
is focused on applied science and technology.  New Delhi is 
screening ideas to ensure that proposals will maintain 
separate US and Indian funding and management, as ideas that 
mix the two are non-starters, he explained. 
 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Agriculture cooperation would provide a good 
visual setting for a POTUS event, Jaishankar proposed, with a 
possible demonstration of Boeing's remote sensing 
applications or visit to an agricultural site.  New Delhi 
would like to see a "breakthrough" on phytosanitary standards 
to allow mango exports to the US, he said, which would have 
very broad resonance in India.  The center of mango 
production is in the constituency of Agriculture Minister 
Sharad Pawar, Jaishankar added.  It would be feasible to 
combine mangoes, US corporations' increasing presence in food 
processing, remote sensing, and university collaboration into 
a very positive package for the visit, he concluded. 
 
Disaster Response and Defense 
----------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (C) Disaster response and defense cooperation are 
"under-realized," the Joint Secretary commented.  The GOI is 
still working to "pull something specific together" in those 
areas, he said, but progress is complicated by the slow pace 
at which the Ministry of Defense operates in procurement. 
Conclusion of the pending transfer by sale of the AUSTIN 
class amphibious transport dock ship USS Trenton (LPD-14) 
fits both the disaster response and defense categories, he 
said, and the GOI is trying to make decisions on what it 
would like regarding participation in development of the 
Multirole Maritime Aircraft.  Joint development and 
cost-sharing programs, Jaishankar emphasized, are the best 
type of announcements to demonstrate the nature of the 
US-India defense relationship. 
 
Health Care 
----------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The GOI is working on a proposal on health care, 
Jaishankar said, which would attempt to build on the growing 
number of Indian health care facilities now accredited by US 
insurance companies and institutions.  New Delhi wants to 
make a proposal that would be general to the system, and not 
just a series of "one-off" deals.  However, Jaishankar added, 
it is important to present it so that it does not appear to 
be outsourcing of American medical jobs. 
 
¶13.  (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: 
(http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) 
BLAKE