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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CALCUTTA 000006 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PARM ETRD ENRG KNNP TRGY IN BEXP
SUBJECT: SENATOR SPECTER'S VISIT TO ORISSA 
 
CALCUTTA 00000006  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  December 22-23 Pennsylvania Senator Arlen 
Specter, accompanied by his spouse Mrs. Joan Specter, Colonel 
Gregg Olsen, staff aide Scott Bowen Boos and medical escort Dr. 
Needleman, visited Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa.  While 
in Bhubaneshwar, Senator Specter met a range of key people 
including senior businessmen, government officials and elected 
representatives.  He also visited the campus of leading Indian 
IT company Infosys and interacted the with company executives. 
During his meetings, Senator Specter spoke about the growing 
U.S.-India relationship, the civil-nuclear agreement and India's 
position as a counterweight to China in Asian geopolitics, as 
well as the situation in Iraq and the Middle East.  While the 
Senator's comments on the nuclear agreement were given a polite 
hearing, Odissi politicians and business people prodded the 
Senator to help increase U.S. investment in Orissa, particularly 
in mining and manufacturing.  End Summary. 
 
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Nuclear Deal and Energy Dominate Lunch Discussion 
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¶2.  (SBU) Senator Specter and party, accompanied by Calcutta PAO 
and Economic Specialist FSN, began their visit to Bhubaneshwar 
with lunch at the residence of Mr. Vishambhar Saran, Chairman of 
Visa Steel Ltd., the largest steel company in Orissa.   The 
approximately 40 guests included Secretary of the Orissa State 
Department of Energy Mr. Asit Kumar Tripathy, Chairman of the 
Grid Corporation of India (GRIDCO) U.P. Singh, Managing Director 
of the Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa (IDCO) Ashok 
Meena and Minister for Urban Development for the State of Orissa 
K.V. Singdeo.  During his conversation with these individuals, 
Senator Specter spoke about the importance of the recent 
Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement, cooperation between the U.S. 
and India on nuclear issues, sanctions against Iran, and the 
development of Orissa's coal and steel industries. 
 
¶3. (U) Energy Secretary Tripathy noted that both Orissa and 
Pennsylvania are prominent coal-producing areas, but that the 
quality of Pennsylvania's coal was superior to that of Orissa's. 
 While Pennsylvania's 30 billion tons of coal reserves consists 
of quality bituminous and even higher-quality anthracite, 
Orissa's 60 billion tons of reserves were mostly high-ash 
lignite.  According to Tripathy, it makes more economic sense to 
convert Orissa's coal to power at the pit opening rather than 
transport it to non-coal-producing areas, because power 
transmission is more efficient than moving large quantities of 
poor-quality coal by rail or truck.  He used this opening, as 
did Mr. Saran, to ask Senator Specter if investment in Orissa's 
mining and manufacturing sectors was being considered by U.S. 
companies.  Specter responded by saying that he was unsure if 
American businesses were considering such investment but that he 
would research the topic upon his return to the United States. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Senator Specter asked Mr. Saran about India's 
international trade in steel.  Saran responded that India has 
achieved a relative balance in imports and exports of steel. 
Asked about imports from the U.S., Saran responded that India 
only imports "specialized, high-quality" steel from the United 
States.  He stated that a concern among Indian steel producers 
is the recent increase in the import of Chinese steel. 
 
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Meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In the early evening, after visiting the Bhubaneshwar 
campus of InfoSys, the information technology company based in 
Bangalore, Specter met with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik 
at the State Secretariat.   Senator Specter began the 30-minute 
courtesy call by saying that he saw the emergence of an 
economically vibrant India as an important, democratic 
"counterweight to China in terms of geopolitics" in Asia.  He 
again noted the recent civil nuclear agreement between the U.S. 
and India, and remarked on how Congressional passage of the 
agreement marks the beginning of an era of increased cooperation 
betweens the two countries on several fronts.  He expressed 
concern about the situation in the Middle East. "We are 
concerned about Iraq.  There is a civil war there, although the 
administration does not want to admit it.  The Middle East is a 
 
CALCUTTA 00000006  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
tinderbox but our government does not want to admit this," 
Senator Specter remarked.  Iran was another "enormous" problem 
and is actively involved in "sending rockets to Hamas to use 
against Israel," and he appreciated the recent support of the 
U.S. position on Iran by India in the United Nations. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik responded politely to 
Senator Specter's statements, preferring instead to talk about 
the economic opportunities in Orissa for potential investors. 
He pointed out that information technology, steel, aluminum and 
power generation are sectors that are attracting large 
investment in Orissa.  He said opportunities have opened up in 
the education and tourism sectors and that the "mood is 
optimistic."  He pointed out that Orissa will soon be a power 
surplus state, and mentioned the recent signing of a memorandum 
of understanding with Mittal Steel for construction of a USD 10 
billion integrated steel factory in Orissa.  This is in addition 
to the USD 12 billion integrated steel factory that POSCO, a 
Korean steel company, is building in Orissa.  Senator Specter 
and Chief Minister Patnaik finished the meeting with a lively 
discussion about the similarities and differences of political 
life in India and the U.S.    The two leaders both agreed with 
Winston Churchill's opinion that "democracy is the best among 
many bad systems," in the words of the Chief Minister. 
 
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Dinner hosted by Member of Parliament 
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¶7.  (SBU) Member of Parliament Mr. Baijayant (Jay) Panda hosted 
a dinner at his residence in honor of Senator Specter.   Panda 
is a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament), 
representing the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the dominant political 
party in Orissa.  The BJD controls the Orissa State Legislative 
Assembly, in alliance with the BJP.  Chief Minister Patnaik is 
the leader of the BJD and Panda is close to the Chief Minister. 
Present at the dinner were Orissa's leading industrialists, 
senior bureaucrats and business executives.  After being 
introduced by Mr. Panda, Senator Specter spoke briefly and 
reiterated his theme that the recent civil nuclear agreement is 
good for India, and that close relations between India and the 
U.S. advances the worthy goal of providing a counterweight in 
Asia to the growing power of a "non-democratic China." Asked by 
Calcutta PAO if he considered himself and his party, the BJD, to 
be right-of-center politically (Note: BJD is an ally of the NDA. 
End note),  Panda immediately responded in the negative, stating 
categorically that he and his party are "centrist."  When asked 
about the BJD's relationship with the BJP, he said that it was 
strictly a "marriage of convenience." 
 
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Comment 
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¶8.   (SBU) Senator Specter's consistent message during his visit 
was that the civil nuclear agreement is a win-win proposition 
for both India and the United States, and he hammered away at 
his theme at every venue and every opportunity.  A corollary to 
this theme, that India is a useful counterweight to a 
"non-democratic China," got a polite but unenthusiastic 
reception, while his message that a strong stance against 
terrorism should include sanctions against Iran generally left 
his audiences cold.  While no politician or business person 
publicly disagreed with the Senator on any of these themes, it 
was clear that business concerns were more on their minds than 
politics.  From the luncheon with business leaders, through the 
meeting with the Chief Minister, and through to the dinner with 
the Parliamentarian, the Indian side saw an opening to plug for 
more investment from the United States, especially in 
manufacturing and mining.  The mood of the visit was summed up 
by the response of the Chairman of Visa Steel Ltd., Mr. Saran, 
to Senator Specter's statement that Iran was aiding terrorism by 
supplying arms to Hamas:  "Yes, so I've heard.  Tell me Senator, 
are Pennsylvania industries interested in investing in Orissa?" 
 
¶9.  (U) This message has not been cleared by Senator Specter's 
office. 
JARDINE