US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI627

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000627 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KPKO, KNNP, EINV, CA, IN, External Political Relations 
SUBJECT: CANADIAN PM MEETS WITH SONIA, DISCUSSES ENRON 
 
 
Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt, Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  The unprecedented meeting with Congress 
Party President Sonia Gandhi marked the highlight of Canadian 
PM Paul Martin's January 18 trip to New Delhi, Canadian 
Embassy PolCouns Adrian Norfolk told PolCouns and Poloff on 
January 25.  Canadian PM Paul Martin also met with Prime 
Minister Manmohan Singh, Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, and 
President Adbul Kalam.  While the visit did not produce any 
formal agreements and did not delve into nuclear issues, the 
two countries discussed possible collaboration on a tsunami 
early warning system and cooperation in science and 
technology.  Press coverage of the event focused on the issue 
of gay marriage, which Canada has just legalized and Sikh 
spiritual leaders oppose.  The trip, rescheduled to include 
stops in Thailand and Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster, 
also included visits to China and Japan.  End Summary. 
 
Sonia Speaks 
------------ 
 
2.  (C) The unprecedented meeting with Congress Party 
President Sonia Gandhi marked the highlight of Canadian PM 
Paul Martin's January 18 trip to New Delhi, Canadian Embassy 
PolCouns Adrian Norfolk told PolCouns and Poloff on January 
25.  Given Mrs Gandhi's refusal to meet with other visiting 
Heads of State, including German Chancellor Schroeder and 
Russian President Putin, the meeting was unusual.  Norfolk 
said that Gandhi seemed at ease talking about economic 
development issues, noting that the Congress Party success in 
the May 2004 elections resulted from the widespread feeling 
among the rural population that economic growth had proceeded 
unevenly.  She pointed to the UPA coalition's Common Minimum 
Program as a blueprint for addressing economic inequities, 
and stated that caste also remains a problem.  Responding to 
Martin's emphasis on the need for greater Foreign Direct 
Investment (FDI) in India, Gandhi reportedly underlined the 
"lingering suspicion" of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) 
"due to Enron" (a reference to the Maharashtra power 
dispute). 
 
Peacekeeping 
------------ 
 
3.  (C) Norfolk characterized Martin's meeting with PM 
Manmohan Singh as positive, noting that the two had known 
each other when they both served as Finance Ministers. 
Martin raised the role of Canada and India in peacekeeping 
operations and the question of whether to intervene in failed 
states.  PM Manmohan Singh cautioned against this, arguing 
that "filling vacuums in post-colonial societies could lead 
to neo-colonial systems."  FM Natwar Singh expressed concern 
over the "embattled" state of the United Nations and the need 
for a strengthened peacekeeping system.  Neither side broke 
new ground of the high profile issue of Security Council 
reform. 
 
Natwar on Wahhabism 
------------------- 
 
4.  (C) According to Norfolk, FM Natwar Singh argued that 
although oil exporting countries had tried to export 
Wahhabism to India, the networks of Islamic universities 
based in India had prevented this.  Natwar expressed an 
interest in strengthening Indian government schools to 
provide vocational training and counter the influence of 
madrassas along the border with Bangladesh.  He also 
emphasized a distinction between "state-sponsored terrorism 
in J&K" and the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian 
people, Norfolk told us. 
 
Cooperation in Science and Technology 
-------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) President Abdul Kalam reportedly emphasized the need 
for greater scientific collaboration between India and 
Canada, Norfolk said.  He argued that this information 
sharing should be done "lab to lab" and that governments 
should play a minimal role.  According to a joint press 
statement and our MEA contacts, the two countries agreed to 
encourage greater collaboration in selected areas of science 
and industrial technologies.  They did not, however, engage 
substantively on the issue of civilian nuclear power -- where 
Canada's historical involvement provoked periodic hope of 
re-engagement by Ottawa.  This issue figures in a series of 
enhanced foreign office consultations the two side committed 
to undertake. 
 
Gay Marriage 
---------------- 
 
6.  (U) The issue of gay-marriage also dominated headlines 
during the PM's visit.  During a joint conference, a reporter 
asked Manmohan Singh to comment on Canada's law permitting 
marriage of same-sex couples, in light of its condemnation by 
the most revered priest in the Sikh religion (to which 
Manmohan Singh belongs).  Singh declined to comment, but 
noted that a similar law would probably not have wide support 
in India. 
MULFORD