Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas
Ranjeet Kumar ]
He came, he saw, he conquered. The three-day (from January 25 to 27) visit of President Barack Obama as a Guest of Honour on India’s Republic Day was an overwhelming success from the perspective of deliverables. The visit was not only high on symbolism but also highly result oriented. From nuclear to defence and in economic and strategic arena, the visit has not only bilateral but also international ramifications. Significantly, the Obama-Modi Summit resulted in not one but three joint declarations. They were: Shared Effort – Progress for all; India-US Delhi Declaration of Friendship, and the US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.
The whole world, not to speak of China and Pakistan only, looked with awe the level of understandings reached between the two world’s most powerful democracies. Hence they have issued strange reactions including Obama-Modi romance aimed at denting Sino-Indian relations. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that implementing the 2008 civil nuclear deal “for political and economic expediencies would have a detrimental impact” on the sta- bility of nuclear deterrence in South Asia. They also objected to US support for India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) under a plan that would exempt New Delhi from some of the group’s export rules.
First US President at Republic Day
Since it was Obama’s second visit in his presidency and first by an American President to attend the Indian Republic Day, the Modi invite has been largely viewed by many as Modi’s overenthusiasm in developing rapport with world’s most powerful man and also his effort to enhance his political profile in domestic politics. The manner in which the two leaders have removed the impasse in nuclear energy cooperation has surprised Indian and international political pundits alike. The decision to expand the range and scope of defence cooperation and its period by another 10 years has not surprised any one as it was largely on the cards and in line with the ongoing cooperation in defence and strategic arena.
Malabar Exercise
The decision to upgrade the Malabar naval exercise has attracted