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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 000782 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER PARM TRGY KNNP EAGR ENRG EINV ETRD
PHUM, SOD, IR, PK, AF, IN 
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES IRAN, AFGHANISTAN WITH 
CODEL BERMAN 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In an April 17 meeting with Codel Berman, 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh endorsed the Obama 
Administration's outreach to Iran, saying that a 
comprehensive dialogue will be more effective in changing 
Tehran's behavior than international sanctions. He urged the 
U.S. to stay the course in Afghanistan, and said India is 
willing to train Afghan police if needed. Saying India will 
do its part to tackle terrorism in South Asia, the Prime 
Minister expressed his government's willingness to return to 
talks with Pakistan as soon as Islamabad brings to justice 
those responsible for the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai. 
The Prime Minister indicated India's support for the U.S. 
Administration's new approach to nonproliferation, and said 
that India and the U.S. can collaborate more in the areas of 
clean energy, agriculture, and infrastructure development. 
The Codel also raised the Doha Round, poverty in India, and 
human rights violations in Kashmir. End Summary. 
 
Iran: PM Supports U.S. Outreach, Thinks Sanctions Won't Work 
- - - - 
¶2. (SBU) House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard 
Berman thanked the Prime Minister for taking time from 
campaigning in India's highly competitive national election 
to meet with the visiting U.S. delegation. Describing 
President Obama's new opening to Iran, Berman asked if India 
could help persuade the Iranians to react positively to this 
opportunity for wide-ranging dialogue. Praising the 
President's approach, the Prime Minister outlined India's 
position: a) India opposes Iran obtaining nuclear weapons; b) 
Iran must honor its commitments under the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty; c) sanctions hurt the poor and 
strengthen the regime and its extremist elements; and d) 
India will continue to abide by all UN Security Council 
resolutions regarding Iran. He added that India is home to 25 
million Shias, and that five million Indians work in the 
Persian Gulf; these facts impose constraints on India's 
policies vis-a-vis Iran. He also urged the U.S. to focus not 
only on uranium enrichment as a means of weaponization, 
noting that many materials come to Iran from North Korea via 
clandestine routes. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Pressed by Rep. Gary Ackerman on India's opposition 
to sanctions, the Prime Minister continued that, in high 
level contacts with Iranians, including President 
Ahmadinejad, he had gained the impression that Iran's leaders 
want to "sit at the high table" with the U.S. and do not plan 
to make Iran a nuclear weapons state. "Don't underestimate 
the (Tehran) regime's capacity to withstand sanctions," he 
warned. Acknowledging that Iran's first reaction to President 
Obama's overtures had been "defensive," the Prime Minister 
advised taking a patient, step-by-step approach to prevent 
Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. 
 
Afghanistan: India Willing to Do Its Part 
- - - - 
¶4. (SBU) Asked by Representative Jim Costa about the new U.S. 
strategy toward Afghanistan, the Prime Minister said a 
successful effort will not be completed in a year or two, but 
requires a long-term commitment. Acknowledging the 
difficulties of modernizing a "primitive, tribal" economy, he 
suggested it was necessary for the U.S. to demonstrate 
staying power in order to convince its enemies they must 
compromise. When Costa asked if the GoI would be willing to 
train Afghan police, the Prime Minister replied that India 
would be "happy to help" train them. He described India's 
U.S. $1.2 billion commitment to road-building, power, health 
and education, and insisted that India has "no military 
ambitions" in Afghanistan. 
 
Ready for Dialogue as Soon as Pakistan Lives up to Terrorism 
Commitments 
 
NEW DELHI 00000782  002 OF 004 
 
 
- - - - 
¶5. (SBU) Questioned by Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee 
about relations with Pakistan, the Prime Minister said Delhi 
and Islamabad had made great progress prior to February 2007, 
when President Musharraf ran into trouble. "We had reached an 
understanding in back channels," he related, in which 
Musharraf had agreed to a non-territorial solution to Kashmir 
that included freedom of movement and trade. The Prime 
Minister added that India wants a strong, stable, peaceful, 
democratic Pakistan and makes no claim on "even an inch" of 
Pakistani territory. Pakistan, on the other hand, supports 
infiltrators, hoping "by a thousand cuts" to weaken Indian 
solidarity, according to the Prime Minister. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Reminding his visitors that India had lost nearly 
200 of its citizens in the Mumbai attacks, the Prime Minister 
said it would be possible to return to dialogue only if 
Pakistan would "behave as a civilized country and bring the 
perpetrators to justice." U.S. and British intelligence had 
certified that the Mumbai attackers came from Pakistan. Now, 
Pakistani leaders had to stick by commitments made to Prime 
Minister Vajpayee and repeated to Prime Minister Singh in 
2005 that they would not permit attacks on India launched 
from Pakistani soil. If so, huge trade opportunities awaited, 
according to the Prime Minister, who added that a strong 
Indian constituency favored normalized relations. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Recalling the July 2008 attack on India's embassy in 
Kabul, the Prime Minister asserted that it had been carried 
out "with the active encouragement" of Pakistan's ISI. He had 
raised the issue with President Zardari and Prime Minister 
Gilani; both promised to investigate but never did. The Prime 
Minister stated that all he had heard in reply was a claim 
that the "old" ISI supported the attack. Praising President 
Obama's efforts to control terror groups, the Prime Minister 
said India was happy to play a role in these efforts. 
 
PM Supports Administration's Approach to Non-Proliferation 
- - - - 
¶8. (SBU) In the Prime Minister's opening remarks, he stated 
that India shares the non-proliferation objectives outlined 
in President Obama's April 5 speech on non-proliferation in 
Prague. (Septel reports GoI reaction in detail.) He said 
India wants to strengthen the global non-proliferation 
regime, to promote the cause of universal disarmament, and to 
work with the U.S. toward a verifiable Fissile Material 
Cut-Off Treaty. 
 
Energy and Infrastructure Development 
- - - - 
¶9. (SBU) The Prime Minister also stressed the importance 
India attaches to the U.S.-India Energy Dialogue. Asked by 
Representative Dan Lungren to elaborate, he described his 
vision for consistent, sustainable economic growth in India 
in the range of 9-10 percent per annum. He said India was 
investing heavily in modernizing its railways, especially 
along the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata freight corridors. 
Outlining plans to create 78,000 MegaWatts (MW) of additional 
electrical capacity, he acknowledged that India would not 
reach that goal within its prescribed time frame, but 
asserted that orders for 65,000 MW of capacity were already 
in place. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Asked by Lungren about clean coal technology, the 
Prime Minister said coal remains a primary source of India's 
energy; it will produce 400 million MT of coal this year. He 
proclaimed India's "deep interest" in clean coal 
technologies, then expressed concern that some of these 
technologies are highly capital-intensive. Through the Energy 
Working Group, the GoI was pleased to work with U.S. 
government colleagues, private industry and the American 
 
NEW DELHI 00000782  003 OF 004 
 
 
scientific establishment. 
 
Trade and Agriculture 
- - - - 
¶11. (SBU) Asked by Representative Ed Royce about India's 
position on Doha, the Prime Minister segued into a discussion 
of India's "well-regulated" financial system. Using the 
recent Satyam case as an example, he argued that India 
believes in "credible" regulation, and had used internal 
mechanisms to resolve the case to the satisfaction of foreign 
investors within three months. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Pressed again to respond on Doha, the Prime 
Minister compared U.S. and European highly subsidized 
agricultural sectors to India's subsistence farmers producing 
a living on less than one hectare. Sixty-five percent of 
India's population works in agriculture, compared to two 
percent of America's, according to the Prime Minister. 
Heading into national elections, the GoI would have given its 
opponents "a golden opportunity" to turn 650 million voters 
against the incumbent party if it had not fought for 
"breathing room" at Doha. 
 
¶13. (SBU) When Representative Costa interjected with a 
question about how India and the U.S. could collaborate more 
closely on agriculture, the Prime Minister acknowledged help 
from Norman Borlaug and U.S. land grant universities in 
creating India's first green revolution.  Noting that this 
year, India's granaries are overflowing, he asserted that 
"India needs a second green revolution" involving 
environmentally friendly technologies, including economical 
use of water and pesticides. There are "endless 
opportunities" for working together, and the GoI has asked 
for the active involvement of America's research and 
development community, concluded the Prime Minister. 
 
Human Rights Abuses in Kashmir 
- - - - 
¶14. (SBU) The Prime Minister responded sharply to a comment 
by Representative Jim Moran suggesting that Pakistan might 
accuse India of mistreating citizens in Kashmir. "Stories of 
atrocities by Indian forces are grossly exaggerated," the 
Prime Minister asserted. He claimed the GoI had taken action 
against those involved in human rights violations, and that 
it remained committed to protecting the human rights of all 
Indian citizens. He also noted that separatists would, for 
the first time in 13 years, take part in this year's Lok 
Sabha elections (septel will report on this development in 
detail). 
 
Poverty in North India; Development in the South 
- - - - 
¶15. (SBU) Representative Moran probed for an explanation for 
the differing speed of development in India's north versus 
south, wondering if a higher level of egalitarianism in the 
south accounted for its ability to take advantage of 
outsourcing and telecommunication opportunities. The Prime 
Minister agreed that, in southern India, women have greater 
opportunities to participate in the work force, adding that 
he would like all of India to move in that direction. He 
stated that his government has sought to: a) ensure that 
every child receives an education at least through elementary 
school; b) tackle the challenges of inadequate 
infrastructure; c) create an environmentally sustainable 
growth path; and d) create opportunities for 
entrepreneurship. He concluded with the hope that it will be 
possible to reduce the gap between states, and expressed his 
pleasure that today's Chief Ministers compete among 
themselves to be seen as the most friendly to development. 
 
Participants 
 
NEW DELHI 00000782  004 OF 004 
 
 
- - - - 
¶16. (U) Indian side: 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 
National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan 
Principal Secretary (PMO) T.K.A. Nair 
Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon 
Joint Secretary (PMO) Pankaj Saran 
Virender Paul (PMO), note-taker 
 
U.S. side: 
Charge d'Affaires A. Peter Burleigh 
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman 
Representative Gary Ackerman 
Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee 
Representative Dan Lungren 
Representative Ed Royce 
Representative Jim Costa 
Representative Jim Moran 
Political Counselor Ted Osius (notetaker) 
 
¶17. (U) Codel Berman did not have an opportunity to clear 
this cable. 
BURLEIGH