Israel DCM Yoed Magen gave us an unexpectedly downbeat readout of the August 28 visit to Jerusalem by MEA Secretary East Rajiv Sikri, reporting that Sikri appeared SIPDIS more often to be the representative of the Palestinians, rather than India.
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India underlined its concerns about the lack of democracy in Burma during the recent visit of Rangoon's military leader Than Shwe, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself delivering the message
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Kumar (Joint Secretary for Americas Gaitri Kumar) replied that the foreign ministers ""did not go into the dynamics"" of the operation. PolCouns pointed out that the U.S. Navy currently had ships in the region which were equipped specifically for disaster relief. »
The wide-ranging talks covered regional and global issues, as well as TSD initiatives. This cable is three of four and covers discussion of South Asia-related issues including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
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MEA Joint Secretary Mohan Kumar on India's Burma policy: ...pressure from Indian insurgent groups with havens in Burma, especially the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), dictates a policy of constructive engagement.
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Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh conducted a bilateral trip to Burma March 24-27. Although the visit was characterized as ""not substantive,"" Singh achieved dual objectives of maintaining dialogue with Burma at the political level and pushing for certain development projects.
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After many months of wishy-washy Indian posturing on Burma, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called publicly for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and encouraged the GOB to move towards democracy on his return from the East Asia Summit. »
Recognizing the inertia within Bangladesh's bureaucracy, the Prime Minister (Hasina) entrusted her own office with preparations for the visit, and her advisors tell us they expect the results to ""transform"" Indo-Bangladesh relations.
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Several simmering political developments have come to a head in the past few weeks, diverting some of the GOI's attention from foreign policy issues such as Iran, the US-India civil-nuclear agreement and the POTUS visit.
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