Introduction
India and USA have come a long way since independence. India-U.S. bilateral relations have developed into a “global strategic partnership”, based on shared democratic values and increasing convergence of interests on bilateral, regional and global issues.
- The emphasis placed by the Government in India on development and good governance has created opportunity to reinvigorate bilateral ties and enhance cooperation under the motto — “ Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go” , and “Sanjha Prayas, Sab ka Vikas” (Shared Effort, Progress for All) adopted during the summits of our leaders in September 2014 and January 2015 respectively.
Regular exchange of high level political visits has provided sustained momentum to bilateral cooperation, while the wide-ranging and ever-expanding dialogue architecture has established a long-term framework for India-U.S. engagement. Today, the India-U.S. bilateral cooperation is broad-based and multi-sectoral, covering trade and investment, defence and security, education, science and technology, cyber security, high-technology, civil nuclear energy, space technology and applications, clean energy, environment, agriculture and health. Vibrant people-to-people interaction and support across the political spectrum in both countries nurture our bilateral relationship.
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Dialogue Architecture
There are more than 50 bilateral dialogue mechanisms between the two governments. The first meeting of the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue at the level of EAM and MoS(Commerce & Industry) was held in Washington DC on 22 September 2015; it has added a commercial component to the five traditional pillars of bilateral relations on which the erstwhile Strategic Dialogue has focussed, namely: Strategic Cooperation; Energy and Climate Change, Education and Development; Economy, Trade and Agriculture; Science and Technology; and Health and Innovation. In addition, there are Ministerial-level dialogues involving home (Homeland Security Dialogue), finance (Financial and Economic Partnership), commerce (Trade Policy Forum), HRD (Higher Education Dialogue), Science & Technology (Joint Commission Meeting on S&T) and energy (Energy Dialogue).
Important areas of convergence
Civil Nuclear Cooperation : The bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement was finalized in July 2007 and signed in October 2008. During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US in September 2014, the two sides set up a Contact Group for advancing the full and timely implementation of the India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, and to resolve pending issues. The Group has held five meetings so far, and reached agreement on the compatibility of India’s nuclear liability law with relevant international conventions and creation of an insurance pool drawing experience of best practices to take care of nuclear liability risk.
Defence Cooperation:
Defence relationship has emerged as a major pillar of India-U.S. strategic partnership with the signing of ‘New Framework for India-U.S. Defense Relations’ in 2005 and the resulting intensification in defence trade, joint exercises, personnel exchanges, collaboration and cooperation in maritime security and counter-piracy, and exchanges between each of the three services. The Defence Framework Agreement was updated and renewed for another 10 years in June 2015.
Counter-terrorism and internal security:
Cooperation in counter-terrorism has seen considerable progress with intelligence sharing, information exchange, operational cooperation, counter-terrorism technology and equipment. India-US Counter-Terrorism Cooperation Initiative was signed in 2010 to expand collaboration on counter-terrorism, information sharing and capacity building. A Homeland Security Dialogue was announced during President Obama’s visit to India in November 2010 to further deepen operational cooperation, counter-terrorism technology transfers and capacity building. Two rounds of this Dialogue have been held, in May 2011 and May 2013, with six Sub-Groups steering cooperation in specific areas. In December 2013, India-U.S Police Chief Conference on homeland security was organized in New Delhi. Police Commissioners from India’s top four metropolis paid a study visit to the U.S. to learn the practices of megacities policing in the U.S. in November 2015. The two sides have agreed on a joint work plan to counter the threat of Improvised Explosives Device (IED).
Science & Technology (S&T):
The India-U.S. S&T cooperation has been steadily growing under the framework of U.S.-India Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement signed in October 2005. There is an Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Joint Commission, co-chaired by the Science Advisor to U.S. President and Indian Minister of S&T. The U.S. attended as the partner country at the Technology Summit 2014 at New Delhi.
Cultural cooperation:
Cultural cooperation between India and the U.S. is rich and manifest in diverse ways. Apart from the India-focused educational programs at the Universities and educational institutions, many private institutions teach Indian cultural arts. In addition to the website ‘
www.indianembassy.org’ and social media channels, the Embassy provides updated information on various aspects of India that are relevant to the United States, through its various digital newsletters, including the weekly “
India: Partner in Growth”, focusing on business and strategic matters, and the monthly “India Live”, providing information on initiatives of the Embassy and the Consulates, major developments in India, and in culture and tourism.
Renewed relations under President Trump
Ahead of Modi’s departure to the US, news reports said India was looking to buy $2 billion worth of US unmanned drones. The move is expected to be welcomed by the US, which is looking at improving its commercial links with Asia’s third largest economy.
Counter-terrorism, besides defence cooperation, was expected to be a common talking point at the meetings Modi was having with Mattis, Tillerson and Trump. India would like the US to lean on Pakistan to stem cross-border terrorism. The US, though, is focused on the spread of the Islamic State in Syria and nearby areas.
The first face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sealed with a bear hug Monday, as the two leaders looked to publicly underscore their new found friendship.
Declaring the official meeting a success, Trump went on to describe the relationship between India and the United States as having “never been stronger, has never been better.”
Trump also took time to praise Modi’s Twitter prowess, we are “world leaders in social media,” said Trump, who has 32.9 million followers on his personal Twitter account, compared to Modi’s 31 million followers.
Modi meanwhile, described his White House visit as being “filled with friendliness” from the “opening tweet to the end of our talks.”
While the Trump administration hopes to “deepen” its relationship with India, the official added that they are “also interested in continuing our cooperation with Pakistan” and are “concerned about tensions between Indian and Pakistan.”
On the economic side, the two sides had very productive discussions. The economic changes in both countries are creating new demands and once you have the high-level comfort between India and the US, the other partner is well placed to meet those demands.
On the H-1B issue, there was a lot of discussion with business leaders and the two leaders about the digital partnership .
It is not that Trump chose to ignore the issues that concern him, but he did not let them dominate the proceedings . Trump duly noted his intent to reduce the US trade deficit with India .
He highlighted that the US is trying to get higher prices for a long-term contract to sell natural gas to India . He was glad to note an Indian airline’s recent order of “100 new American planes, one of the largest orders of its kind, which will support thousands and thousands of American jobs”. In the delegation-level talks, Trump also thanked Modi for the Indian government’s decision to purchase 22 unarmed Guardian drones from the US
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Regional issues
The meeting pointed to other regional security concerns, with both leaders emphasizing the importance of Indian-US relations in helping to stabilize Afghanistan. “India and America have played an important role in rebuilding Afghanistan and ensuring its security.”In order to attain our objectives for peace and stability in Afghanistan, we will maintain close consultation and communication.”
The two leaders also “strongly condemned” continued provocations by North Korea emphasizing that its “destabilizing pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programs poses a grave threat to regional security and global peace,” according to the statement.
Thorny issues☜
The apparently jovial tone was in contrast to what had beenpredicted to be a tough meeting.
Both Trump and Modi have tried to boost domestic manufacturing in their own country.
Modi, under a program titled “Make in India,” has been looking for foreign companies to set up production in India. That runs counter to Trump’s “America First” messaging, where Trump is looking to punish American companies who ship jobs and production overseas.
Trump’s “ Buy American, Hire American” executive order, signed in April, overhauled the H-1B visa program primarily used by Indian engineers and developers.
While, earlier this month, Trump singled out India during his announcement declaring the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Trump accused India of receiving “billions” of dollars in return for signing the accord, an allegation that India refuted. A joint statement issued by both leaders did not mention either issues directly, and instead focused on the two leaders’ pledge to “expand and deepen the strategic partnership between the countries and advance common objectives” by providing “strong leadership to address global challenges.”
Seeking to downplay potential policy conflicts, Modi suggested that economic growth was not a zero-sum game. “India’s interests lie in a strong, and prosperous, and successful America,” said Modi during their press briefing. “In the same way, India’s development and its growing role at the international level are in the USA’s interest.”
Conclusion
The just-concluded visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US was billed as a “no frills” summit. Indian officials were extremely careful to keep expectations low. The ploy seems to have worked, as the outcome of this “get to know each other” meeting between Modi and US President Donald Trump has been surprisingly pleasant.
Along with the common democratic ethos—the rhetoric of India and the US being the largest and oldest democracies is actually more than just purple prose—the assumption of America’s global role underwrote the advances made in the India-US bilateral relationship. Moreover, Trump’s struggle in the domain of foreign policy—he has driven relations south with almost all US allies and his hopes for a turnaround with Russia and China haven’t exactly materialized—so far did not inspire much confidence in New Delhi.
While the joint statement is nothing more than a statement of intent, it is clear that India, which is not a formal US ally, seems to have adapted better to the Trump presidency than many long-standing US allies. When looked at closely, this is not much of a surprise. Most of the post-World War II alliances had lost their meaning after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, but they continued in the renewed spirit of globalization and multilateralism that took over the world.
The economic and strategic logic began to be questioned only when the distributional problems of free trade acquired political momentum in the long shadow of the Great Recession of 2008. In a new and unfamiliar moment for US allies, their inability to spend their required quota on defence began to be resented in America.
On the other hand, the logic of partnership with India was based on a strategic rationale that continues to be valid: the rise of China, and its consequences. China is not the only binding factor between India and the US but it is a very important one . This is where the non-proliferation activists in Washington and a few others who were haggling on different clauses of the Indo-US nuclear deal had missed the big picture. If globalizing forces formed the predominant logic behind the Indo-US partnership, this summit would not have been half as successful.
