US embassy cable - 05PARIS6342

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 006342 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ENRG, KNNP, PARM, IN, IR, PK, UK, GM, FR 
SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 11-12 VISIT OF INDIAN PM SINGH TO FRANCE 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for Reaso 
ns 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY.  On September 16, poloff met with MFA India 
desk officer to discuss Indian PM Manmohan Singh's meetings 
with the French President, Prime Minister, Minister of 
Defense and others September 11-13.  The meetings, aimed at 
strengthening an already close bilateral relationship between 
India and France, focused on further promoting strategic 
partnership in the fields of defense industries and 
commercial trade (to include the civil nuclear sector); and 
on affirming French support of a permanent UN Security 
Council seat for India.  The desk officer said that the PM 
seemed "optimistic" on the subject of Pakistan and "quiet" on 
the subject of Iran.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) MFA India desk officer, Luis Vassy, said Singh's 
brief stopover (September 11-13) in Paris included a greet at 
the airport by French Minister of Defense, Michele 
Alliot-Marie; a breakfast meeting with leading French 
businesspeople (and French Foreign Trade Minister Christine 
Legarde); and meetings with French PM Dominique de Villepin 
and French President Jacques Chirac. 
 
3.  (C) Vassy said that the U.S.-India relationship announced 
on July 18 corresponded with French views that have existed 
"forever" regarding India.  That is, cooperative engagement 
that promotes stability, spurs economic growth and 
discourages proliferation is the best solution for dealing 
with India.  The fact that the U.S. has opened the door to 
such cooperation, he added, has allowed France to discuss 
civil nuclear trade with India, an area that the French have 
long wanted to explore.  India's civil nuclear program, while 
high on the agenda, was just one subject among many in the 
realm of French-Indian trade relations discussed during 
Singh's stay.  India and France, in a joint statement made 
on September 12, expressed their intention to double 
bilateral trade within 5 years with special attention paid to 
the following "priority sectors:" infrastructure, information 
technology, pharmaceuticals, environment, advanced and new 
technologies, food processing, automobiles and aeronautics. 
India and France also reaffirmed their willingness to further 
pursue their cooperation in the space sector. The visit 
provided the Indian PM a forum through which to officially 
confirm the purchase of six Scorpene submarines and 43 Airbus 
aircraft. 
 
4.  (U) Vassy said that Indian press coverage of the visit 
was much more comprehensive than French coverage, which did 
not give the level of detail found in Indian reports. 
(COMMENT: We found French coverage of the visit to be 
overwhelmingly positive; it often highlighted that France and 
India - like the U.S. and India - enjoy a special 
relationship.  The Singh-Chirac meeting also garnered 
attention due to the fact that it was Chirac's first official 
duty since his brief hospitalization for a "minor vascular 
incident." END COMMENT). 
 
5.  (C) Vassy said that the issue of Pakistan came up briefly 
in Singh's meetings with Chirac and Villepin.  He said that 
the Indian outlook seemed "optimistic" on the subject but 
that Singh still asked the French to deliver an official 
request to Pakistan to cease incursions into Kashmir. 
 
6.  (C)  When asked if Iran was discussed during Singh's 
visit, Vassy replied that the French made a point of 
presenting the EU-3's position on Iran's nuclear activities. 
Singh, he said, did not offer a clear reply.  Vassy added 
that the purpose of discussing Iran was not to elicit a 
response so much as help Singh understand the EU-3 position. 
Vassy also said that the India-Iran bilateral relationship, 
to include the proposed India-Pakistan-Iran pipeline, was not 
discussed. 
 
7.  (U)  Vassy said that the next major step in promoting the 
France-India relationship will come when Chirac visits India 
in February of next year.  Vassy said that that the visit, 
scheduled for February 20 and 21, would probably come shortly 
after President Bush's visit to India. 
STAPLETON