US embassy cable - 04MUMBAI2478

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUMBAI 002478 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS, NEA/IPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  11/29/14 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, TSPA, PTER, IS, IN, GOI, India-Israel 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL REOPENS CONSULATE IN MUMBAI 
 
REF: New Delhi 7348 
 
1. (C) On November 15 visiting Israeli MFA officials briefed 
Acting PO and Pol/Econ Chief on Israel's decision to reopen its 
consulate in Mumbai.  Israel closed its consulate in Mumbai in 
mid-2003 as part of cost-cutting measures that affected Israeli 
diplomatic posts around the world, Israeli MFA official Amos 
Nadai told ConGen officers. 
 
2. (C) Nadai, deputy director general for Asia/Pacific in the 
Israeli MFA, said the Israeli government now realized that the 
closure of the Mumbai consulate was a "mistake."  Israel was 
interested in deepening its relationship with India, and closing 
the consulate had sent the wrong signal to the Indian 
government.  Nadai added, however, that the GOI had not put any 
pressure on Israel to reopen the consulate, but was welcoming 
the decision.  The consulate's main job would be to promote 
bilateral trade:  India had become an important destination for 
Israeli arms exports, and commercial, non-military ties were 
also growing.  Bilateral commercial trade with India, which 
amounted to around $1.5 billion in 2003, was expected to top $2 
billion this year. 
 
3. (SBU) Mordehai Amihai, Director of the South and SE Asia 
department of the MFA, and Barukh Binah, head of the bureau of 
international affairs in the MFA's center for political 
research, accompanied Nadai to Mumbai.  They stopped in the city 
while en route to New Delhi for bilateral talks with the GOI 
(reftel).  Amihai told us Israel had identified India as one of 
three countries where the growth in commercial ties was most 
promising. (Russia and China are the others.)  In a November 22 
discussion with Pol/Econ chief, Daniel Sivan, the consulate's 
new DPO, confirmed that Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will 
lead a delegation of about 100 Israeli business reps on a trade 
mission to India in early December.  Olmert will visit New 
Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, Sivan said, echoing reports in the 
Israeli press over the weekend. 
 
4. (C) Nadai said a new consul general will most probably be 
named within the next several weeks and that, judging from the 
shortlist of candidates he'd seen, will likely be someone 
without prior diplomatic experience in India.  The CG and Sivan 
will man the consulate along with an Israeli security detachment 
and a small local staff, Sivan said.  The Israeli government 
never terminated the lease on its facility, which occupies an 
upper-level floor in a high-rise in southern Mumbai's financial 
district, and was hence able to re-open the consulate quickly. 
Nadai queried A/PO about security and general safety in Mumbai. 
Sivan, who told Pol/Econ chief that he worked as a finance 
officer at the MFA in Jerusalem, arrived in Mumbai this past 
summer.  The consulate was already issuing visas and providing 
services to Israeli businessmen and tourists in Mumbai, Sivan 
said.  According to press reports, the consulate is already 
receiving about 400 visa applications monthly. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
5. (C) Several years ago, some Muslim observers publicly 
criticized the initial opening of the Israeli consulate in 
Mumbai.  They asked whether an increased official Israeli 
presence in India was consistent with the GOI's criticism of 
Israeli policy towards the Palestinians.  This time around the 
Urdu language press, like the rest of the India media, did 
report briefly about the re-opening of the Israeli consulate. 
However, public criticism from Muslim quarters has been absent, 
which may be an indication of the increased normalcy surrounding 
Indian/Israeli relations.  That said, we observe that Mumbai 
Muslims remain disturbed and concerned about the 
Israeli/Palestinian conflict. 
 
SIMMONS