Washington hopes that the visit, following the landslide election victory of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in May, will turn a page in relations with New Delhi which are deeply valued but have been under strain in recent years.
Despite the energy-sapping itinerary of high level summits and jet travel, Modi was expected to take only tea and lemonade as he maintains a nine-day religious fast that he observes every year.
Vision statement
Both nations issued a joint vision statement promising that their strategic partnership would work to combat terror threats, respond to humanitarian disasters, prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and to mitigate the impact of climate change.
India-US strategic ties are a joint endeavour for peace, and security cooperation between the two will make the world secure, the vision statement called “Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go” put out on the Indian foreign ministry website said on Tuesday.
Both sides agreed to support an “open and inclusive rules-based global order, in which India assumes greater multilateral responsibility, including in a reformed United Nations Security Council”, the statement said.
Climate change was another area that both sides pledged to address together, with the statement saying that the world’s largest and oldest democracies will join hands to ensure development of clean energy sources, including through “American-origin nuclear power technologies to India.”
Skill development, joint research and collaboration in space and health, besides cooperation at international fora such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) were the other areas where both sides promised to collaborate.
“We have a vision that the US and India will have a transformative relationship as trusted partners in the 21stcentury. Our partnership will be a model for the rest of the world,” the statement added.
Cabinet-level visits
Since Modi took office, Washington has made strenuous efforts to court the new Indian leader—sending several cabinet level delegations to New Delhi and pushing for an early visit to the US by the new prime minister.
“This is a historic and pivotal moment in the history between our two great democratic nations,” said a senior US official who declined to be named.
As he arrived in the US on Friday, Modi said in an article in the Wall Street Journal that “India and the US have a fundamental stake in each other’s success.”
“The complementary strengths of India and the US can be used for inclusive and broad-based global development to transform lives across the world.”
The White House took that as a sign that despite some nettlesome differences, notably over trade, Modi was committed to a relationship that US officials see as a fulcrum of Obama’s policy of rebalancing US foreign policy towards Asia.
“What we are hearing from our Indian counterparts and what gives us tremendous excitement and confidence in the direction that we’re moving is a desire to work across all areas of endeavour,” another official said, predicting common ground on bilateral issues and regional and global security.
US officials have welcomed Modi’s vows to slash red tape confining India’s economy and his overtures to business leaders who have long chafed at restrictions on foreign investment in the country.
Trade woes
But Washington is concerned about New Delhi’s recent move to block a key WTO pact that would streamline customs procedures and boost global commerce.
Earlier while addressing the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, Modi said India is not against a trade facilitation agreement under the WTO, “but welfare of the large number of poor people in India must be taken into account and therefore, agreements on trade facilitation and food security must be secured together” under the WTO, according to a statement released by the prime minister’s office.
He said that despite some differences with Washington, the wider relationship could still improve.
“It is not necessary we should have comfort in everything, even between a husband and wife, there is never 100% comfort,” Modi joked at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the two sides would also discuss the future of Afghanistan and the global fight against militant groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Modi issued a public warning to the US on Monday not to repeat its “mistake” in leaving Iraq by pulling out of Afghanistan too soon.
“Because after such a rapid withdrawal in Iraq, (and) what happened there, the withdrawal process in Afghanistan should be very slow.”
Combating terrorism
Modi said that in the 21st century, the world was interdependent, and all countries had a stake in each other’s welfare. He identified terrorism as “an enemy of humanity” and urged all humanitarian forces across the world to unite to fight the menace. He said all terrorism in India was “exported” terrorism, and not homegrown.
“Together, we (India and the US) will combat terrorist threats and keep our homelands and citizens safe from attacks, while we respond expeditiously to humanitarian disasters and crises. We will prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and remain committed to reducing the salience of nuclear weapons, while promoting universal, verifiable, and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament,” said the statement released on the eve of Modi’s talks with President Obama on Tuesday.
“Through intense consultations, joint exercises, and shared technology, our security cooperation will make the region and the world safe and secure,” the statement said.
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