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FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9660
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 0622
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S E C R E T LONDON 007250 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, EUR/UBI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2016 
TAGS: PREL KNNP ETRD PTER IN AF UK
SUBJECT: (C) UK-INDIA SUMMIT:  BUILDING ON THE STRATEGIC 
PARTNERSHIP 
 
 
Classified By: PolMinCouns Maura Connelly; reason 1.4 (b, d) 
 
¶1.  (S/NF) SUMMARY:  Prime Ministers Blair and Singh met in 
London October 10 for the third annual UK-India summit since 
the bilateral strategic partnership was launched in 2004. 
This was not intended as a summit of breakthrough agreements, 
but rather of building on the multi-faceted relationship. 
The leaders agreed their governments would take more 
practical steps together on counter-terrorism, clean coal 
technology, and managing diversity to combat Muslim 
radicalization.  Singh said he had "credible evidence" of 
Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai terror attack, but did 
not give details.  The visit had a strong trade and 
investment focus (the UK and India are each other's third 
largest foreign investor).  In response to Singh's request, 
the UK is likely to send a junior minister to the November 
18-19 Regional Economic Conference on Afghanistan.  In 
another sign of the growing importance of the bilateral 
relationship, UK Foreign Secretary Beckett plans to spend a 
week in India in early November.  END SUMMARY. 
 
(U) A BUSY DAY 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) James Paver, Head of FCO's India Section, gave Poloff 
a readout October 11 of the previous day's third annual 
UK-India summit since the bilateral strategic partnership was 
launched in 2004.  He said the day had been very busy and the 
atmospherics very good throughout.  It was clear that the two 
Prime Ministers held each other in high esteem.  The program 
included a tete-a-tete at Number 10 Downing Street that ran 
over by half an hour; a ministerial plenary; a working lunch; 
a business meeting with about 10 senior CEOs from each side 
to discuss opportunities and barriers to bilateral 
investment; and a joint appearance at the closing session of 
a day-long bilateral "investment summit" (the UK and India 
are each other's third largest foreign investor).  PM Singh 
also met separately with Chancellor Gordon Brown (Paver had 
no readout yet from that meeting) and with Foreign Secretary 
Margaret Beckett.  On October 11, Singh was due to receive an 
honorary doctorate from Cambridge University (giving him both 
a first degree and an honorary doctorate from each of Oxford 
and Cambridge).  Participants in the ministerial plenary were: 
 
- UK:  PM Blair, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, Trade 
and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling, and Environment 
Secretary David Miliband. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
- India:  PM Singh, Trade Minister Kamil Nath and Minister of 
State for External Affairs Anand Sharma. 
 
(C) AGREEING TO MORE COOPERATION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  This summit was intended to build on the existing 
range of ties rather than to produce splashy new agreements, 
Paver said.  The ministerial plenary reviewed an impressive 
range of topics reflecting the multi-faceted relationship - 
including health care, labor and employment, and migration. 
Notable outcomes included agreement that the two governments 
would do more to cooperate in practical ways against 
terrorism, including exchanging lessons learned and 
consulting on how to ensure protection of upcoming major 
sporting events (Commonwealth Games 2010 in India, Summer 
Olympics 2012 in London).  The Indian delegation was keen to 
discuss the protection of vital installations, including 
nuclear facilities.  Twice, PM Singh over-ruled objections 
from his officials and agreed to cooperate with the UK: 
 
- To build a model power plant using clean coal technology, 
with funding support from both the UK and the EU.  GOI 
officials had objected that the technology is still immature 
and untested, therefore unsafe.  Another complication, Paver 
explained, is that India's domestic coal supply is of poor 
quality; the whole point is to try to develop technological 
solutions so that even that dirty coal can be used in an 
environmentally clean way. 
 
- To exchange experiences in managing diversity, with a focus 
on combating radicalization of the two countries' Muslim 
minorities.  Singh expressed concern about growing 
 
radicalization even outside India's immediate region, notably 
in Malaysia. 
 
(U) PAKISTAN 
------------ 
 
¶4.  (S/NF)  The two leaders had a long exchange on 
Indo-Pakistani relations.  Singh stressed that he is ahead of 
domestic public opinion and cannot bring his people along if 
there continue to be incidents like the Mumbai terror attack. 
 He told Beckett that he has "credible evidence" of Pakistani 
involvement in that attack, but did not provide details.  He 
wanted the U.S. and UK to put pressure on Pakistan and 
monitor its activities especially along the Kashmir Line of 
Control.  He also worried about Nepal and Bangladesh being 
used as terrorist infiltration routes into India. 
 
(U) AFGHANISTAN 
--------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Singh asked Blair to send a minister to the Regional 
Economic Conference on Afghanistan, to be held in New Delhi 
on November 18-19.  Paver said HMG is likely to send a junior 
minister (i.e., sub-Cabinet level). 
 
(U) THE NUCLEAR FILE 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) The timing of the summit meant that inevitably, North 
Korea's reported nuclear test was a topic of discussion; it 
also featured prominently in the two leaders' joint press 
conference.  The Indians were concerned that the North Korean 
issue could affect perceptions in the U.S. Congress and 
complicate passage of the necessary legislation on the 
U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Initiative.  They asked for HMG's 
continued help with the Nuclear Suppliers Group.  The British 
replied that India needs to show progress on concluding IAEA 
safeguards.  PM Singh claimed progress is being made in that 
regard. 
 
(U) MORE VISITS IN THE OFFING 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) In Beckett's meeting with Singh, she discussed her 
planned trip to India.  She wants to spend a week there in 
early November, taking as her theme the "globalization of 
responsibility."  Singh liked the idea, commenting that there 
are effective mechanisms to manage the global economy, but no 
comparable global mechanisms for political management.  Paver 
said that the Foreign Secretary's visit is still in the early 
planning stages; he assumed she would go to New Delhi and 
Mumbai, and guessed her third destination would be Hyderabad, 
because it is both the headquarters of the influential 
Deobandi Islamic movement and a technological center.  In 
addition to Beckett's long visit, several other Cabinet and 
sub-Cabinet level ministers from the UK are due to travel to 
India in the next couple of months, with a similar number of 
Indian ministers coming here. 
 
(U) COMMENT 
----------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Beckett's plan to spend a whole week in India is yet 
another indication of the UK's conviction that the time is 
right to embrace the world's largest democracy and build a 
long-term strategic partnership with India.  It is no 
coincidence that David Cameron chose India as the destination 
for one of his first overseas trips since becoming leader of 
the opposition Conservative Party. 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/london/index. cfm 
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