Obama's maiden visit to India a triumph: Experts

Washington, :

Terming US President Barack Obama's maiden trip to India as a triumph, noted American experts cutting across ideological spectrum today said that it has taken the Indo-US relationship to an altogether new level.

"I think the (Obama) visit was a triumph," said Ashley Tellis, of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who had served as one of the foreign policy aid of the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain in 2008. "His speech to Parliament was a masterly blend of idealism and realism and he convincingly proved the point that he personally cares about India and that the US-India relationship is vitally important for the United States—that was the most significant achievement," Tellis said. "It turns out the skeptics were wrong. Historians will see the trip as an important milestone in the maturation and consolidation of what President Obama called 'the defining partnership of the 21st century'," said Robert M Hathaway, Director, Asia Program Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. More substantial, he said was the obvious personal chemistry between the two leaders, a rapport that should, in the years ahead, facilitate other more concrete achievements tying the two countries together. "The dissolution of suspicion, the nurturing of trust, and the promotion of bonds of genuine friendship and understanding -- historians may someday see this as the most significant aspect of the Obama visit," Hathaway observed. Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation, another Washington-based think-tank, said Obama's trip was successful in consolidating Indo-US ties and even taking the engagement to a new level. "The visit sent a clear signal of the importance his administration attaches to India, highlighting both economic and security cooperation," she said. "Robust endorsement of India's global role can also be seen in other more concrete initiatives like the easing of export controls on Indian organizations and support for Indian membership in nonproliferation groupings like the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime." "These announcements demonstrate that Obama Administration will continue the legacy established by the Bush administration of incorporating India into the global non-proliferation regime, and viewing India as a partner, not a target, in stemming proliferation," Curtis said. The US President's statement that India would now be "treated the same as our closest allies and partners" should lay to rest Indian concerns that the Indo-US relationship may languish under the Obama regime, Curtis said. It was important for Obama to establish that the US would continue to prioritize relations with India, and not allow the Afghanistan-Pakistan agenda to bog down US-India ties, she said, adding that Obama seems to have achieved this objective, having handled very carefully expected questions on the US relationship with Pakistan. "Obama made a good case for how expanding US-India investment and trade ties will benefit the US economy. He provided more finessed remarks on the outsourcing issue than he has in the past, explaining that it is not a one- dimensional issue and that each side should focus more on the mutual benefits gained from their economic linkages." "This should help build support back in the US for strong US-India economic ties, and dispel the image of India as economic competitor to the US," Curtis added.

Poll results would not affect Obama's Asia trip: Aide

The predicted rout of US President Barack Obama's Democratic party in Tuesday's Congressional poll would not affect his economic agenda on his Asia trip, starting with India, according to a top aide. "I think regardless of the election results, the President is committed throughout this whole trip and including the negotiations over the free trade agreement (with South Korea) to doing what is right for expanding US exports and creating jobs here at home," Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman told reporters on Monday.

"That's why he's going to Asia, and starting with India, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan-and participating in a number of efforts to expand US export opportunities and jobs here at home," he said.  "So I think that will be his agenda, regardless of the outcome of the election tomorrow."   

 

Noting that India is the first stop on Obama's Asia trip, Froman said: "We very much view India as a critical component of Asia. And it being a very fast-growing economy, a very successful economy, we see great opportunities in the bilateral economic relationship.  

"We also see great opportunities in working with India, whether it's in the G20 or elsewhere, on broader, global economic issues," he said suggesting Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, "I think they'll be talking." 

"They have a good relationship around these issues, and look forward to working together on them,"  Froman said noting they'll both be at the G20 summit in South Korea. But there are no plans for a separate meeting, he said.

Alluding to differences over certain trade issues with India, he said: "There will be discussion about economic issues between the two countries, some of which could be resolved, some of which will take longer to resolve."  

"But there also will be discussion of various commercial contracts that we hope to bring to fruition between now and the President's trip that are immediate and will create jobs back here at home right away and expand US exports," he said.  

"There are a whole range of potential contracts that are being worked on." Froman said declining to spell them out.Asked what the US expected to export to India, the aide said Washington was looking to   export from its "very globally competitive manufacturing service and agricultural sectors."  

"So in all areas of our economy, we hope to expand exports to a fast-growing market like India," he said.