VZCZCXRO6697
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #1212/01 1621759
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111759Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6955
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8159
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1774
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001212 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PARM TSPL KNNP ETTC ENRG TRGY IN
SUBJECT: UNDERSECRETARY BURNS AND FOREIGN MINISTER KRISHNA 
AGREE "SKY'S THE LIMIT" FOR THE U.S.-INDIA PARTNERSHIP 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  In his first meeting with Minister for 
External Affairs S.M. Krishna, visiting Under Secretary for 
Political Affairs Bill Burns outlined opportunities to expand 
the bilateral relationship as it enters the next phase. 
Foreign Secretary Menon and Indian Ambassador to the U.S. 
Meera Shankar also attended the June 10 meeting, providing 
background information to the new Minister, who assumed his 
post last month.  Krishna avoided delving into regional 
issues but pledged that the GOI remained committed to 
ensuring "continuity and stability" in South Asia and had no 
"territorial ambitions." 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Participants, including Assistant Secretary Bob 
Blake, Charge d'Affaires Peter Burleigh, and Deputy Director 
for Policy Planning Derek Chollet, focused on how each 
government could leverage the political milestones reached 
during their respective elections to propel the bilateral 
relationship forward, especially in the areas of educational 
exchanges and clean energy.  Krishna warmly welcomed the 
upcoming visit of Secretary Clinton and reiterated Prime 
Minister Singh's invitation to President Obama to visit India 
at his earliest convenience.  End Summary. 
 
Regional Goals: Continuity and Stability 
---- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Krishna reported that the newly elected government 
intended to promote continuity and stability in the region. 
He lamented that India had "already been subjected to so much 
terror."  Burns assured Krishna that President Obama remained 
committed to encouraging stability in both Afghanistan and 
Pakistan, adding that India's participation was essential to 
achieving our common goals.  Burns expressed appreciation for 
the GOI's contributions in Afghanistan, particularly in the 
areas of law enforcement training and agricultural assistance. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Regarding the aftermath of the war in Sri Lanka, 
Krishna underscored the GOI's immediate concern for the 
resettlement of over 250,000 IDPs.  Burns assured Krishna we 
would continue to work with India to send a unified message 
to the Sri Lankan leadership.  Both Burns and Krishna agreed 
the U.S. and India should continue to "quietly collaborate" 
on this issue. 
 
Seizing the Post-Election Moment 
---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Burns and Krishna agreed that the U.S. and India 
should "seize the moment" after each government won a strong 
mandate in their respective elections.  The U.S. and India 
would build on the success of the civil nuclear cooperation 
agreement.  Krishna stressed that President Obama has a 
"large number of admirers in this country" and praised the 
President's recent Cairo speech.  Burns relayed that during 
Secretary Clinton's upcoming visit she hoped to tap into the 
full potential of the strategic partnership through a 
strengthened bilateral framework, ranging from 
counterterrorism cooperation to educational exchanges.  Burns 
underscored that while the U.S. would continue to develop a 
healthy relationship with China, the U.S.-India relationship 
was a top foreign policy priority for President Obama.  He 
affirmed that the U.S. aims to nurture a "variety of strong 
relationships." 
 
¶6. (U) Krishna, a Fulbright alum, praised the recent 
expansion of the U.S.-India Fulbright program and expressed 
hope that further educational partnerships could be developed 
in the coming years.  He admitted that India had experienced 
"a few hiccups" in attempts to reform higher education, but 
said the current government was committed to opening the 
sector to investment from foreign universities.  Ambassador 
Meera Shankar added that the U.S. and GOI hoped to initiate a 
high-level dialogue to include university and private sector 
readers to suggest recommendations and help facilitate 
increased collaboration between U.S. and Indian universities 
(Krishna supported this idea.)  Burns commented that the 
benefits of education cooperation would spill over into other 
sectors, including science and healthcare 
 
Clean Energy Collaboration 
---- 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00001212  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Both sides concurred that the U.S. and India should 
explore ways to collaborate on energy and climate change. 
Burns remarked that together India and the U.S. could promote 
a "healthier" international dialogue on climate change. 
Krishna and Burns noted Special Envoy Stern and Saran had 
begun a healthy dialogue on this and other related subjects. 
Krishna and Shankar highlighted India's success in developing 
wind technology and solar power, but admitted that South Asia 
had not been able to create successful, affordable energy 
technology.  Shankar encouraged her U.S. counterparts to 
consider smaller projects, such as solar generators, as other 
possible areas for collaboration. 
 
¶8.  (U) Under Secretary Burns cleared this message. 
BURLEIGH