US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI6722

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 006722 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, ENRG, KDEM, IZ, IN, India-Iraq 
SUBJECT: INDIAN OFFER TO HELP IRAQ "STILL ON THE TABLE" 
DESPITE SECURITY CONCERNS 
 
REF: A. STATE 158420 
     B. NEW DELHI 6660 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Geoff Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1.  (U) This is an action request for USAID Mission in Iraq. 
See para 6. 
 
2.  (C) Summary:  India's previous offers to provide 
training, advice, and material assistance to assist Iraq's 
electoral and constitutional processes are "still on the 
table," but remain constrained by security concerns, MEA 
Joint Secretary (Gulf) Sanjay Singh told A/DCM and PolMilOff 
on August 31.  He expressed doubt, however, that Iraq could 
use what India has offered because of Baghdad's limited 
capacity to respond to matters beyond their immediate 
political and security concerns.  Of $20 million the GOI has 
allocated for projects in Iraq, about $10 million is still 
available.  The GOI is especially interested in getting more 
information about local electricity projects to consider 
funding.  End Summary. 
 
Democracy:  India Can Play a Helpful Role Outside Iraq 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
3.  (C) A/DCM underscored Foreign Minister Singh and Foreign 
Secretary Saran's enthusiasm for the US-India Global 
 
SIPDIS 
Democracy Initiative and pressed the GOI for ideas about how 
to translate this interest into action in Iraq.  Singh 
reiterated the continuing caveat that any training or 
consultations should happen outside Iraq because of the 
ongoing GOI travel ban for Iraq due to ongoing security 
concerns.  A/DCM stressed that even making a statement of 
support for Iraq's constitutional process would make a 
difference, noting the positive reverberations following the 
GOI statement about Iraq's elections in January. 
 
4.  (C) Singh raised questions about several factors which 
may influence acceptance of the draft constitution, e.g., 
whether Sunni leaders' rejection of the constitution was 
serious or merely a negotiating ploy, and why Sadr opposes 
provisions to share oil revenues.  He also expressed 
confusion about unspecified provisions regarding oil revenue 
in the draft constitution.  In addition, Singh asked if UNSYG 
Special Representative Brahimi would play a role in 
"fine-tuning" the current draft constitution, as he had 
during the drafting of the Transitional Administrative Law. 
 
5.  (C) Singh mentioned he was closely watching the US 
domestic debate about the war, opining that the dynamics of 
US public opinion had perhaps more impact on the increasing 
level of violence in Iraq than anything else.  "I think the 
insurgents take strength from what is happening in the US," 
he stated. 
 
Indian Interest in Electricity Sector 
------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) Following up on earlier discussions about Indian 
interest in providing assistance to Iraq's energy sector, 
PolMilOff asked about the availability of funding for such 
projects.  Singh responded that, of the $20 million the GOI 
has allocated for Iraqi assistance, about $7 million has been 
committed to various food assistance and capacity-building 
projects.  Of the balance, about $2 million may be used for 
water pumps in the marshlands, leaving about $10 million for 
other projects.  Singh reported that this money is available 
immediately and projects could be funded via a mix of grant 
or loan, as long as equipment is sourced from India.  As in 
previous meetings, he expressed special interest in getting 
specific information about high priority local electricity 
projects, ideally in areas where India had electricity 
projects in the past, e.g., Khor Zubayr.  Action Request for 
USAID/Iraq:  Please send information about projects that 
might meet these criteria to Embassy New Delhi.  Slug 
responses for PolMilOff Stacy Gilbert. 
 
7.  (C) Finally, Singh mentioned that India will host two 
trade delegations from Iraq in September, one focused on 
agricultural issues with representation from all provinces, 
as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry.  He was less 
optimistic about the preparatory steps toward re-establishing 
the Indo-Iraq Joint Commission (JC), stating that the date of 
the first working group meeting to precede the JC had not yet 
been set, but the Iraqi Ministry of Oil would prepare a 
technical paper outlining the issues they would like the JC 
to address. 
 
8.  (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: 
(http//www.state.sgov/p/sa/newdelhi) 
MULFORD