Top US think tank gives Trump top grades for India ties
WASHINGTON: The Council on Foreign Relations has graded President Donald Trump’s handling of ties with India as one of his successes, alongside his dealings with China and Saudi Arabia.
“The Trump administration has maintained the success story of Us-india relations initiated by George W Bush,” the report authored for CFR by Robert Blackwill said. Bush’s term is often cited as a watershed period in bilateral ties on account of the India-us civil nuclear deal, which ended India’s nuclear isolation.
The report released on Monday gave Trump a B+ grade for India, the highest the president scored, as he did also for China, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Syria. It gave him a C for Iran and trade, his pet project, and D for European security. Trump got F grade for dealing with climate change, US alliances, Russia, policy processes and character.
The report titled Trump’s Foreign Policies Are Better Than They Seem argued that his actions may “seem rash, ignorant and chaotic” and he may seem determined to both dominate the world and withdraw from it, but “some of his individual foreign policies are substantially better than his opponents assert”.
Trump got high marks for India for his South Asia policy that “accords primacy to India”; for clearing the sale of advanced weapons systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles; and for his “decision to treat India on par with NATO allies where strategic technology release is concerned”.
Blackwill, a former US ambassador to India, also noted,“new Delhi has, accordingly, responded with bold initiatives of its own.”