Embassy New Delhi, India and Constituent Posts - OIG - US ...

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around the world. Several mission elements address different aspects of the problem – legal
regime, capacity, and enforcement. This division of responsibility has led to some difficulties in
coordinating intellectual-property-related meetings with Indian authorities or private-sector
contacts, leading in turn to some confusion about the U.S. position. The U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office attaché chairs the mission’s interagency intellectual property working group,
which includes participation from the consulates general. The group updated its action work plan
and has begun to meet to share plans for policy advocacy, upcoming intellectual-property-related
events, and travel outside Delhi in order to tighten coordination.
Collaboration with India on food security in third countries was an important outcome of
the President’s visit. Washington took time to develop a whole-of-government position. In New
Delhi, embassy communications with Indian authorities were not always coordinated, resulting
in some confusion and resistance from the Indian authorities. Both countries are now better
aligned as they finalize a joint demarche to several African countries on agricultural training in
India. Despite these improvements, more regular communication among members of the country
team and meetings of the embassy’s agriculture and food security working group are necessary
to strengthen habits of cooperation, share information, and develop unified positions to
communicate to the Indian Government.
Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism
Mission India brings together a wide range of agencies in a well-coordinated effort on
both law enforcement and counterterrorism fronts. The legal attaché office (Federal Bureau of
Investigation) is the liaison with host nation law enforcement to coordinate investigative
resources in support of counterterrorism and bilateral criminal issues. In addition to
responsibility for India, this office provides regional support to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal,
and the Maldives. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement focuses on smuggling,
human trafficking, and child labor issues, while the U.S. Customs and Border Protection deals
with customs and immigration issues. The Drug Enforcement Agency conducts counternarcotics
investigations, liaison, and training with host nation law enforcement. It also provides regional
support to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives on counternarcotics issues. These
agencies are in frequent communication and coordinate formally in regularly scheduled
meetings, including a regional security officer-chaired criminal investigator meeting, a DCMchaired
counterterrorism/law enforcement working group (for which the counterterrorism
coordinator serves as executive secretary), and an Ambassador-chaired counterterrorism focus
group.
The United States and India signed a memorandum of understanding for the
Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative in 2010, specifying 16 areas to strengthen capacities and
exchange information. Counterterrorism cooperation is a high priority for the Ambassador.
Cooperation at the policy level is conducted through the Counterterrorism Joint Working Group,
which the Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism cochairs.
Several agencies provide a range of counterterrorism assistance and share information
with Indian organizations. The regional security officer manages the Antiterrorism Assistance
program, which offers training in several areas, including border management, investigations,
and explosive countermeasures. The Antiterrorism Assistance program will train more than 150
police and law enforcement officials this year, and counterterrorism assistance from all agencies
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