India-US ties: Focus on the long-term
unto ourselves”. He also added that “we must be willing to join with other Western nations in a serious long term program of loans, backed up by technical assistance…. To enable India to overtake the challenge of Communist China”.
The new framework for the India- US relationship was launched after our nuclear tests in 1998. Several rounds of the Strobe TalbottJaswant Singh dialogue in the Clinton- Vajpayee era served to create a basis for future understanding and cooperation, even though they did not lead to any specific results themselves. The Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement worked out in the Bush- Manmohan Singh era, broke the shackles on high technology cooperation, and intensified cooperation in other areas such as defence, even though no nuclear power plants have been initiated so far with US involvement. The Obama administration saw some convergence with India in the context of Afghanistan, its ‘rebalance to Asia’ and in fostering a universalised international agreement to tackle climate change issues.
The possible convergences in the Trump era remain to be defined, despite the broad bipartisan support in US for the India relationship, and Trump’s own positive comments about India during the campaign. His negative references to India on June 1 about future enhanced plans for coal usage, or international funding assistance were neither factual nor warranted. His comments on US role in the world went against the grain of what Marshall, Truman and Kennedy had said earlier, and President Obama more recently.
Despite any particular short term discordance, India will need to remain focused on the longer term convergence and advantages, and work with array of stakeholders. India will also need to consolidate its multi-polar relationships to retain options. The prime minister’s visit to Germany, Spain, Russia and France from May 29 to June 3 remains relevant in this context.
Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe, and increasingly in the lead on European and global issues. With France we have a strategic partnership since 1998, and significant cooperation in defence, space and civil nuclear areas. Russia has been a long established source of political support and defence cooperation.