VZCZCXRO3150
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #2265/01 3131246
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091246Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8511
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8057

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002265 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON POL AMGT IN
SUBJECT: India Reporting Workshop Puts Strategic Dialogue in 
Context 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The Ambassador enthusiastically welcomed more than 80 
participants from throughout India and neighboring Bangladesh, 
Nepal, Pakistan and China to an October 5-6 India Reporting Workshop 
in New Delhi.  SCA Assistant Secretary (A/S) Blake, addressing the 
group via DVC, underscored the value to Washington policymakers of 
timely, insightful and succinct reporting from the field.  During 
the ensuing group consultations, panels and facilitated discussions, 
officers and locally-employed staff (LES) explored in greater depth 
the multifaceted U.S. - India Strategic Dialogue and its regional 
implications, strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of 
reporting, the relationship between officers and LES, and overall 
career management.  An expert panel examined parallels between China 
and India as emerging global actors.  Embassy New Delhi officers 
also provided specialized briefings to workshop participants on 
climate change and energy; counterterrorism; agriculture and food 
security; and trafficking, human rights and religious freedom.  . 
End Summary. 
 
Ambassador and Assistant Secretary Set the Tone 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In his welcoming remarks to the Workshop participants, the 
Ambassador spoke passionately of his experience traveling and 
working in Asia and its formative impact upon his thinking about 
U.S. policy.   He recounted being encouraged by then House Speaker 
Tip O'Neil to seize opportunities to "get out and travel" to broaden 
his grasp of the international context of U.S. policymaking.  This 
message was reiterated by A/S Blake.  In his characterization of the 
complex range of issues with which the USG is engaged with India, he 
noted that the bilateral relationship was tied inextricably to 
relations with China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri 
Lanka and Central Asia.  A/S Blake urged reporting officers to "get 
out a lot" in order to develop contacts.  From these, he noted, one 
gleans the insights that can help Washington policymakers more 
effectively filter massive information flows.  A/S Blake emphasized 
the importance both of succinct, crisp reporting that helps 
Washington make time-sensitive, informed decisions as well as 
analytical reports that help the intelligence community frame an 
understanding of longer-term trends.  He said he personally read at 
least the subject line and summary of every cable from SCA posts 
every day. 
 
Strategic Overview 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Economic, Environment Science and Technology (EEST) and 
Political Minister Counselors (M/Cs) opened the full-day session 
with a discussion of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue and 
overarching regional issues.  POL M/C said we had reached a critical 
point in the bilateral relationship with new administrations in both 
countries.  India's new United Progressive Alliance-led government 
is keen to meet its domestic policy imperatives and deliver tangible 
benefits for Indians while at the same time taking on a more 
significant role on the world stage.  For its part, while the Obama 
Administration has sought to build on prior successes in our 
strategic partnership with India, it is giving greater emphasis to 
moving from dialogue to concrete actions in 18 specific areas 
comprising five pillars of engagement.  The pillars include: 
Strategic Cooperation; Energy and Climate Change; Education and 
Development; Economics, Trade and Agriculture: and Science and 
Technology, Health and Innovation. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Lively discussion of the Strategic Dialogue was encouraged 
when the EEST M/C asked a provocative series of questions: As the 
oldest and largest democracies, do India and the United States 
really share common values?  What role will/should India assume in 
the years to come?  What tangible outcomes can enhanced bilateral 
engagement realistically expect to generate and how?  Responses from 
both LES and officers acknowledged that there was much to be done to 
overcome stove-pipes and roadblocks, but noted that demonstrable 
successes could be achieved with certain interlocutors and 
institutions, and that these exemplars need to be highlighted and 
leveraged.  Some noted that at the same time as it was important to 
underscore far-reaching mutual interests, resources must be 
channeled toward collaboration in areas of mutual interest.  One 
USAID representative, for example, spoke of the importance of public 
and private partnership agreements, which have helped to shift the 
proportion of funds reaching India 4:1 in favor of foreign direct 
investment rather than development assistance.  Similarly, in trade, 
science, and technology engagement, there is an increasingly 
pragmatic focus on identifying where partnering with the private 
sector can advance shared business and development priorities. 
 
India and China 
--------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A panel discussion with Professor Alka Acharya of 
 
NEW DELHI 00002265  002 OF 002 
 
 
Jawaharlal Nehru University and Peter Wonicott of the Wall Street 
Journal focused on the divergent paths that China and India have 
taken toward development and toward their neighbors.  Mr. Wonicott 
stressed the profoundly different means by which each country has 
pursued economic, political and military power - each dimension 
reflecting China's centralized decisiveness and India's fragmented 
inclusiveness.  Professor Acharya, on the other hand, spoke of the 
lens of competition and rivalry through which India tends to view 
China as a threat.  In the discussion that ensued, workshop 
participants attending from Embassy Beijing said China views its 
relative success in reducing poverty and its growing trade surplus 
with India as proof of the superiority of the state-led growth 
model, whereas Indian press reporting of a Chinese threat is viewed 
as only an inflammatory confirmation. 
 
Reporting with Results 
---------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Economic and Political Deputy Section Heads, reporting 
officers from Chennai and Kolkata, and the India Desk Officer 
attending from Washington contributed to a panel discussion on how 
to maximizing the effectiveness of reporting.  Some panelists 
reiterated suggestions made by A/S Blake: to provide context, target 
messages to readers, and get out of the office to get to know 
contacts.  Others encouraged the synchronization of reporting, 
representation, and travel plans to align with larger mission 
priorities, as well as coordination of reporting between sections to 
avoid stove-pipping and missing critical cross-cutting issues. 
Participants discussed using share-point, web-based and other new 
communications tools to more effectively exchange information, but 
acknowledged that the traditional cable remained important, even if 
sometimes it is best to email it as well as an attachment to key 
readers. 
 
Career Management 
----------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) LES and officers met in separate groups to exchange ideas 
about career management.  Specialists from New Delhi, Chennai and 
Mumbai facilitated the LES panel discussion, while the officers' 
panel was led by representatives from Human Resources as well as 
Political and Economic Sections.  LES personnel focused on perennial 
concerns over having flat career trajectories and explored 
strategies for building growth and professional development 
opportunities into the career.  Officers' discussion focused largely 
on the mechanics of evaluations and the functioning of promotion 
panels.  In a combined session, a senior LES offered suggestions to 
officers, including: that officers communicate frequently with LESs, 
recognize their contributions, attend to their training and 
technology needs, and engage them fully in substantive work and 
visits. 
 
Conclusion 
---------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The DCM, along with the workshop hosts, summarized the key 
takeaways from the meetings.  On the full range of issues, involving 
both our bilateral dialogue as well as regional neighbors, we are 
moving from a period of dialogue to one of action.  Workshop 
participants were urged to stay focused on critical mission 
priorities, while working to build trust with their Indian 
counterparts.  In the process, reporting will continue to matter, as 
posts synchronize efforts with Washington and seek to build 
interagency collaboration. 
 
 
ROEMER