US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU708

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000708 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR MORIARTY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2012 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, NP, U.S-Nepali Relations 
SUBJECT: PM DEUBA REQUESTS POTUS MEETING IN WASHINGTON 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 672 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski, Reasons 1.5(b),(d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Prime Minister Deuba has asked for a POTUS 
meeting in Washington during his May 8-13 visit to the U.S. 
to attend the UN Special Session on Children.  If Deuba 
cannot meet with POTUS, he will not travel to DC due to 
domestic political concerns, but still hopes for a SecState 
meeting in New York.  Terrorism - international, regional, 
and within Nepal - would top the agenda of a Bush-Deuba 
meeting.  Post endorses the PM's request.  End Summary. 
 
PM Deuba Asks for White House Call 
---------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Jung 
Bahadur Singh called in Ambassador April 9 to relate Prime 
Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's request for a meeting with 
POTUS in Washington during Deuba's May 8-13 visit to the U.S. 
 Deuba will travel to New York for the UN Special Session on 
Children May 8-10.  The PM would prefer to visit Washington 
May 11-12, but would be willing to fly to DC even during the 
Special Session if that were the only time a White House 
meeting could be arranged.  Singh added that if a POTUS 
meeting were not possible, the PM would cancel the Washington 
leg of his trip out of concerns that his domestic political 
critics would use his failure to get a White House meeting 
against him.  (Note:  As reported Reftel, Deuba continues to 
fight off efforts by a powerful faction within his own party, 
headed by the former PM, to unseat him.  End Note.)  However, 
Deuba would still hope to meet with Secretary Powell in New 
York, Singh stated. 
 
Terrorism to Top Agenda 
----------------------- 
 
3. (C) Terrorism would top the agenda of PM Deuba's White 
House meeting.  Nepal was an early - and ardent - supporter 
of the U.S. initiative against global terrorism, and has been 
working hard to attract international attention to its own 
problems with domestic terrorism in the form of an ongoing 
and increasingly violent Maoist insurgency.  Currently, Deuba 
holds the chair of the South Asian Association for Regional 
Cooperation (SAARC), and the discussion would thus touch on 
regional issues, including the India-Pakistan conflict and 
Afghanistan. 
 
4. (C) Deuba plans to depart Nepal May 6 with a rest stop in 
Europe on the way to New York.  Following his stay in the 
U.S., Deuba plans to stop over in Brussels for consultations 
with Nepalese diplomats before continuing his journey home. 
 
Comment: Domestic Concerns 
-------------------------- 
 
5. (C) As State Minister Singh made clear, Deuba feels that 
his enemies would make hay if he traveled to Washington 
without meeting the U.S. President.  A POTUS meeting would 
raise his standing both in the party and the wider polity, 
and would underline USG support for Nepal's imperiled 
democracy. 
 
Recommendation: Post Endorses Nepal's Request 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Post endorses Prime Minister Deuba's request for a 
White House meeting.  Nepal is the only country on the Global 
Patterns of Terrorism supplemental list that faces a 
non-Islamic terrorist threat; support for Nepal reinforces 
the USG's assertion that we oppose terrorism in all its 
forms.  The meeting would also raise the standing of Deuba - 
a friend of the U.S. - at home at a time when the 
continuation of the incumbent government is a prerequisite 
for a sustainable response to the evolving security threat 
posed by the insurgents. 
MALINOWSKI