US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI5446

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 005446 
 
SIPDIS 
 
KABUL FOR ARG (GRIZZLE), USAID (FINE) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, KDEM, PTER, IN, PK, AF, IR, India-Afghanistan 
SUBJECT: GOI WANTS TO HELP US IN AFGHANISTAN 
 
 
Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (C) Summary: MEA Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, 
Iran) Dilip Sinha told us on July 14 that India is very 
committed to its Afghan reconstruction projects, is looking 
for opportunities to do more in reconstruction, vocational 
training, and election and governance technical assistance, 
and would welcome proposals for joint projects with the US. 
The degradation in the security situation is a threat to the 
September Parliamentary elections, he warned, blaming 
Pakistan for the resurgent Taliban violence.  The new Iranian 
president-elect is an unknown to the GOI, and India will have 
to wait to see what policies he adopts.  Building on the 
US-India Democracy Initiative at next week's Manmohan Singh 
visit to Washington, we should take maximum advantage of 
India's desire to help in Afghanistan.  End Summary. 
 
Progress on Pul-i-Khumri Power Line Construction 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
2.  (U) The Indian PowerGrid contractor team has just 
returned from a trip to Kabul to deal with technical queries 
for the Kabul to Pul-i-Khumri transmission line, Sinha 
reported, pronouncing them "completely satisfied" with the 
progress made during their visit.  PowerGrid is now setting 
up its Kabul office, and has detailed two people familiar 
with the exact route of the transmission line to work with 
the demining team, starting by the end of July. 
 
Further Assistance Projects: Parliament, Job Training 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
3.  (SBU) India has dispatched an architect to Kabul to 
review with Afghan leaders proposals for the construction of 
a new Parliament building, Sinha said, affirming that India 
would fund and execute the project itself.  Additionally, a 
team of Afghan workers for the new Parliament Secretariat 
will visit New Delhi in India to learn about GOI training 
courses for new parliamentarians that could be adapted for 
the Afghans elected on September 18. 
 
4.  (SBU) New Delhi is "very keen" to push ahead with more 
reconstruction and assistance projects, Sinha said. 
Referring to his June 20 discussion of potential areas of 
US-India collaboration with S/P Krasner, Sinha outlined a 
plan for Indian "train-the-trainer" type assistance to teach 
simple vocational skills.  The GOI is concerned that its 
reconstruction projects (such as the hospital, cold storage 
facility, and schools that it has constructed) may fall into 
disrepair after a few years as the needed skills for 
maintenance and repair are lacking.  MEA is requesting that 
the contractors who have constructed these projects remain 
on-site for two to three years, during which time they would 
pass on maintenance skills to local employees. 
 
5.  (SBU) Expanding on this idea, Sinha relayed a proposal 
from Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood in Kabul to send Indian 
polytechnic school instructors to Afghanistan to train 
Afghans in carpentry, electrical, masonry and other trades, 
and teach them to train others.  The US could help by funding 
the next phase for the newly-taught trainees to pass on their 
knowledge to others or by funding tool kits for the graduates 
of India's courses.  He proposed that regional training camps 
could be set up with donor-country sponsorship for each camp, 
including providing the tools and materials needed to train 
and equip students.  The GOI would like to formalize the 
vocational training proposal with the GOA before PM Manmohan 
Singh's visit to Kabul in September. 
 
Ready to Assist with Elections 
------------------------------ 
 
6.  (SBU) The GOI is willing to assist in the September 
Parliamentary elections in any way that the GOA needs, Sinha 
said.  Two Indian Election Commission experts are going to 
work with the UN mission to assist the polls, but the GOA has 
not yet made any specific requests for help. 
 
Violence Controlled by Pakistan 
------------------------------- 
7.  (C) Sinha worried that the elections were at risk from 
resurgent Taliban violence originating in Pakistan.  The GOI 
has "clear evidence" that Pakistan is behind the increased 
violence, he said.  Pakistan has the ability to control this 
if it chooses, Sinha stated, citing the calm environment in 
which the Presidential elections took place.  It is difficult 
to say why Pakistan has decided to unleash more violence at 
this time instead, he commented, warning that long-term 
security in Afghanistan is not assured, given Pakistan's 
ability to destabilize Afghanistan. 
 
Iran's New President: Wait and See 
---------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) Sinha said that the GOI has had no contact yet with 
the Iranian president-elect Ahmadinejad, knew nothing of him 
before his election, and was waiting to see what policies he 
might take upon assuming office.  India maintains an annual 
"strategic dialogue" with Iran, and the next meeting will be 
in May 2006.  In any case, New Delhi believes a policy of 
constructive engagement with Iran would be most productive, 
he commented, reiterating that the GOI's position is that 
Iran should live up to NPT commitments and work with the IAEA 
to resolve nuclear program disputes.  PolCouns reviewed our 
concerns about terrorism and WMD in familiar terms, 
expressing our hope that India will use its presence in 
Tehran to urge the government in a constructive direction. 
Sinha took this point, but added that India has been living 
with the bomb in its neighborhood since 1964, and an Iranian 
nuclear weapon would be a more distant concern than the 
closer bombs already in existence. 
 
Comment: Ramp Up the Afghanistan Cooperation 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
9.  (C) The positive feedback on PowerGrid's consultations 
for the Pul-i-Khumri project is welcome given initial MEA 
resistance to coordination meetings, and seems to signal a 
change of heart toward the idea of joint programs.  The MEA 
is receptive to proposals for more collaborative efforts in 
Afghanistan, which will be an obvious area for cooperation on 
the US-India Democracy Initiative (including the 
parliamentarian training).  We should work out details for 
joint efforts in both democracy promotion and reconstruction 
while both the MEA's regional bureau and its Ambassador in 
Kabul are receptive. 
BLAKE