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THE MAGAZINEIndia Abroad September 27, 2013
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W
hen strategic part-ners and sisterdemocracies likeIndia and
the
United States ofAmerica meet, theworld sits up and takes
note.Therefore, the visit of Indias PrimeMinister, Dr Manmohan
Singh toWashington, DC and his upcomingmeeting with President
BarackObama shines the light on a vitalrelationship of great
importance notonly because of its bilateral impact,but the
difference it makes for peaceand progress everywhere.
Contributors to this supplementhave raised several important
ques-
tions in the context of this relation-ship and its growth over
the lastdecade. It is acknowledged that therehas been a remarkable
improvementin relations between the two coun-tries over the last
decade, and that for
India, the range of engagement withthe US (over 30 dialogue
mecha-nisms) far exceeds that with anyother country. No longer are
there
hyphens attached to India in thinkingcircles in Washington; the
civiliannuclear deal overcame difficult lega-cies of the past, and
the US has resetnot only its vision of India, but alsoIndias place
in Asia and the world.
The defense of pluralism, of diversi-ty, of democracy is a
mutually sharedperspective. There is also recognitionof the pivotal
role played by theIndian-American community.
But our learned contributors alsospeak of a need for work on
bothsides to re-launch the partnership, to
dispel perception of a loss of momen-tum, to set long term goals
in thebilateral relationship, to impressupon Americans that India
is a placewhere they can do business. With thegood sense possessed
by democracies,
it is also amply recognized that uni-dimensional approaches
cannot dic-tate the manner in which the rela-tionship is
transacted.
This cannot detract however, fromthe fundamentally positive
orienta-tion of relations between India andthe United States.
Speaking in Mumbai during hisvisit to India in July this year,
theVice President Joe Biden put it in hisinimitable way, I am
absolutely con-fident absolutely confident in thefuture of this
relationship. Notbecause Im nave. Ive been aroundlonger than most
of you. Ive beendoing this kind of business my entireadult life. My
confidence is based on
the history of the journey of both ourcountries. But I am
confident.
And as Vice-President Biden alsoput it, there is no hyperbole in
the
Alittle more than eight years ago, on July18, 2005, Dr Manmohan
Singh embarkedon perhaps the most audacious diplomaticmission an
Indian prime minister hasundertaken to completely transform the
long troubled relationship with the United States of
America.By removing the fish bone in the throat as asenior
Indian diplomat once described the US deci-sion to sign a civilian
nuclear agreement with India President George W Bush enforced his
administrationand his nations commitment to a new and
powerfulassociation with India.
Much has happened in the years since. There havebeen many
moments of exhilarating triumph as therehave been moments of
intense disappointment.
Despite the belief in some quarters that the US-India
relationship has not achieved its full potential,despite the
occasional anxiety and the frustrations onboth sides, it is amply
clear that the worlds two great-
est democracies are closer today than they have everbeen.To mark
what could be Dr Singhs final visit to the
United States as prime minister, India Abroadinviteddiplomats
and strategic thinkers in New Delhi andWashington, DC to assess the
current state of the US-India relationship and suggest a road map
for thefuture.
For the first time inIndia Abroads 43-year-old his-tory, we
invited a Guest Editor to edit this specialissue of theIndia Abroad
Magazine. One of the finestdiplomats in the history of the Indian
Foreign Service,Ambassador Nirupama Rao.
When we invited Indias Ambassador to the United
States to be our first-ever Guest Editor, she
gracefullyconsented on condition that she would see every wordthat
went into this, the special issue of theIndiaAbroad Magazine.
She has been a tough editor, scrutinizing every arti-cle, making
numerous valuable suggestions and bring-ing her 40-year-old most
distinguished diplomaticcareer to bear on the rich portfolio of
insights webring to you this week.
This is an issue of theIndia Abroad Magazine likenone other.
What you will find within are a colorful tapestry ofviews that
profile what President Obama described asthe most decisive
relationship for this, the 21st centu-
ry. We are pleased to feature these contributors in thisspecial
issue and deeply honored to have AmbassadorRao as its Guest
Editor.
The Editors
The US and India share more than a partnership, they share
afellowship forged on the anvil of shared interests, values,
andconcerns. AMBASSADOR NIRUPAMA RAO on the journey
so far and the way forward.
The Silent Revolution
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs upcoming meeting with
President Barack Obama shines the light on a vital relationship of
greatimportance not only because of its bilateral impact, but the
diff erence it makes for peace and progress everywhere.
JASON REED/REUTERS
Page M3
PARESH
GANDHI
Indias Ambassador to the UnitedStates Nirupama Rao.
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definition of this relationship as a defin-ing partnership.
Congressman Joe Crowley, co-chair,House Caucus on India and the
IndianAmericans, writing in this supplement,says, We have simply
come too fartogether to turn back, adding that thefruits of
cooperation far outweigh thecosts of discord.
There is a sense of maturity in therelationship today, as Robert
Hathawaynotes in these pages, which more thancompensates for the
sense of anticipa-tion that coursed through the veins a fewyears
ago. A settled routine prevails. Ameasured sense of mature
realismunderscored by basic goodwill andempathy is not to be
lightly dismissed. Itcan be the lodestar for a durable
rela-tionship where the best is yet to be.
When I recce the landscape of ourbilateral relations, I direct
the pointertowards our enhanced engagement inareas like defense and
security, exchangeof high-level visits, the regular meetingsof the
India-US Strategic Dialogue since2010, our burgeoning trade and
eco-nomic partnership, and the sharperfocus that has been brought
to the peo-ple-centric dimension of our relation-ship, together
with our cooperation in sectors such as edu-cation, energy,
S&T, innovation, health and space science.Contacts between
states in India and those in the UnitedStates have also been a
feature of our exchanges. The US
Congress, and particularly members of the India Caucus,have time
and again shown their focus and commitment tothe cause of better
US-India relations. This is a silent revo-lution, not a blockbuster
one, but epochal all the same.
In civil nuclear cooperation, negotiations between IndiasNuclear
Power Corporation and Westinghouse as also GE-Hitachi are under
way. Progress even if slow, is steady, sus-tained by the political
will of both governments to ensurethat this cooperation achieves
its goals. We look forward tocontinued US support and cooperation
in securing Indiasmembership of the four multilateral export
control regimes.
In defense, our cooperation has intensified with growingdefense
trade, joint exercises, personnel exchanges, cooper-ation in
maritime security and counter piracy operations.
The aggregate worth of Indias defense acquisitions (includ-ing
the C-130 J-30, C-17 Globe Master III, and Poseidon 8 Iaircrafts)
from the US has crossed $9 billion. There isintention to now take
our defense ties to a level where wecan simplify technology
transfer policies and explore possi-bilities of co-development and
co-production of defensesystems.
Our strategic consultations and our dialogues coveringEast Asia,
Central Asia and West Asia are also an importantaspect of our
partnership. Trilateral mechanisms for dia-logue with Japan, and
also with Afghanistan are additional-ly, a key feature.
As Lisa Curtis puts it in these pages, there is a strategiclogic
in our ties. This is especially so when we widen the
lens beyond bilateral relations to the Asian stage
andbeyond.
Cooperation in counter-terrorism has seen considerableprogress
with intelligence sharing and informationexchange, and the
institutionalization of the HomelandSecurity Dialogue covering
engagement in megacities polic-
ing, combating illicit finance, bulk cash smuggling
andcounterfeiting, cyber-security and critical
infrastructureprotection, port, border, maritime, transportation
and sup-ply chain security, science and technology cooperation
and
capacity building.The business of diplomacy is business, as has
been said.Noteworthy is the growth in trade volume, both in
goodsand services between our two countries (close to 100 billion$
last year). We have set our sights on an early convening ofthe
bilateral Trade Policy Forum. Negotiations on aBilateral Investment
Treaty have recommenced in July thisyear. There is a fulsome
discussion ongoing by both govern-ment and industry on the Indian
side with US stake holdersthat highlights our concerns on any
restrictions sought tobe imposed on the movement of high-skilled
non-immi-grant professionals employed by Indian information
tech-nology companies into the United States. We endorse theview
recently expressed by five distinguished former US
Ambassadors to India that there should be a clean immi-gration
reform bill that does not include any discriminatoryprovisions that
may harm US or Indian interests, andwhich supports the growth of
the US-India knowledgeeconomy. Our IT and other companies whose
investmentsin the US economy are significant, have generated a
fewhundred thousand jobs in the US, creating livelihoods
andwellbeing.
It is true that concerns are expressed in the US about thepace
of reform in India. We are sensitive to these concernsbecause we
value our investment ties with US businesses.India has prioritized
the improvement of its investment cli-mate, and significant foreign
direct investment liberaliza-tion has occurred in the past year in
multi-brand retail, sin-
gle-brand retail, civil aviation, telecommunications anddefense.
Clearances for pending projects have been fast-tracked by a
Cabinet-level empowered committee, (170projects worth US $ 30.45
billion cleared until earlyAugust, 2013), taxation issues have been
addressed upfrontand clarified, including General Anti-Avoidance
Rules and
transfer pricing for research and devel-opment centers.
Preferential MarketAccess guidelines for private sector com-panies
have been kept in abeyance inview of the concerns expressed by
US-based investors.
In areas like energy, education andhealth, our partnership is
robust andflourishing. Strong public-private part-nerships have
been forged in solar ener-gy research, building energy research,and
advanced biofuels. There have beenencouraging developments
concerningopenings for shale gas exports from theUS to non-Free
Trade Agreement coun-tries, from which India (with its hugeand only
partially fulfilled energyrequirements) hopes to benefit.
Our Higher Education Dialogue is alsopromoting strategic
institutional part-nerships, deepening collaboration inresearch and
development, fostering
partnerships in community college edu-cation, junior faculty
development andempowered classrooms through onlineeducation.
Sixteen joint India-USresearch projects have been awardedunder the
Singh-Obama 21st CenturyKnowledge Initiative. ConsideringIndias
demographic dividend of youngpeople, our cooperation in
HigherEducation is a critically important pillar
of the Strategic Partnership.The cutting edge for the future of
both our countries is
innovation. Nowhere is this more apparent than in ourcooperation
in science and technology. And, even more
importantly, this involves the youth of both countries. The SN
Bose and Khorana fellowships for young students areexamples. The
Millennium Alliance involving IndiasDepartment of Science and
Technology, the TradeDevelopment Board, USAID and the Federation of
IndianChambers of Commerce and Industry, the India-US.
S&TEndowment Fund for Innovation & Entrepreneurship,
theJoint Clean Energy Research and Development Center, themonsoon
desk at NOAA, collaboration in the preventionand management of
Diabetes and the India-US Science &Technology Forum are forums
that illustrate our innova-tions partnerships.
In the field of health, the Vaccine Action Program is
aproductive collaboration and the momentum it has created
has seen the development of a new rotavirus vaccine:ROTAVAC, the
first entirely new vaccine developed withinIndia in over 100
years.
Indias relations with the US began in 1792, whenPresident George
Washington commissioned Benjamin Joy,of Newburyport and Boston, to
be Consul at Calcutta (as itwas then called) and other ports and
places on the coast ofIndia and Asia.
Truly, our relations have endured the test of time. There
iscontinuity, there is hope and promise, never denied, but tobe
fully fulfilled. The two countries share more than a part-nership,
they share a fellowship forged on the anvil ofshared interests,
values, and concerns.
A steady, steadfast, and mature approach to the relation-
ship in its present state, as well as in charting the
courseforward should propel us in our journey to the future. And,we
need to take a holistic view always, relating everythingto context,
because uni-focal approaches cannot dojustice to this unique
fellowship, this sisterhood ofdemocracies.
Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao edits this special
issue of the India Abroad Magazine at the
Ambassadors residence in Washington, DC. This is for the first
time in the newspapers 43-year-old history
that we invited a Guest Editor.
PARESH GANDHI
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The Silent Revolution
