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India, US
look for the next big thing for Obama visit
Monday, September 20, 2010 08:07:00 AM,
Arun Kumar, IANS
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Washington:
A search is on for the next big thing in India-US relations after
their landmark civil nuclear deal to let President Barack Obama
truly make "history" on his India visit in early November.
From the Indian perspective, that could well be Washington's full
throated endorsement for India's permanent membership of the UN
Security Council in acknowledgement of India's emergence as a
"global power". Also high on India's wish list would be removal of
export curbs on dual-use, high-tech items in consonance with
Obama's avowed goal of making the India-US "strategic partnership"
as "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."
India would also like the US to address new irritants like the
"discriminatory" hike in H1-B L1 visa fees for highly skilled
professionals and temporary workers, but would not want it to
become a "huge overhang", as one senior Indian official put it,
over the Obama visit that it looks at as a "very significant
milestone" in the growing relationship.
This emerged from what officials said after two days of hectic
diplomacy by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao with a flurry of
meetings here with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, White House
National Security Advisor Gen James Jones and other senior
officials at the defence and commerce departments.
From the US perspective, Washington is keen that "natural
partner," India ink three "foundational" military agreements for
purchasing more American-origin defence equipment, "realistic"
joint exercises and stepped up visits by Indian armed forces
officers.
This officials suggest that would allow the US to "share" the next
higher level of technology with India to fulfil its strategic aim
of ensuring inter-operability of weapon systems in future and
investing in a long term relationship.
The US would like the joint exercises to be "reflective of the
real world situation" to prepare both sides to jointly undertake
counter-piracy operations, maritime security, freedom of
navigation and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The US side is also none too happy over India's nuclear liability
legislation that they say would impede American firms from taking
a fair share of India's $150 billion potential nuclear power
market. Washington would also like India to address what it calls
"longstanding impediments" like investment caps, agricultural
market access barriers and high tariffs, intellectual property
rights and the need for continuing regulatory streamlining and
transparency.
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk has raised these issues with
Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma before and is
expected to do so again when they meet here Tuesday for the
India-US trade policy forum. The US is also keen on a bilateral
investment treaty "to enhance opportunities for bilateral trade
and investment and, ultimately, to create jobs in the United
States and India."
Sharma in turn is expected to raise Ohio state's outsourcing ban
and visa fee hike issues that he has termed "regressive" moves
that would prove counterproductive and might affect the recovery
of the global economy.
For the record, as Indian and US officials race against the clock
to think up big ideas for Obama's upcoming visit, scheduled for
Nov 7-9, according to sources, they speak of expanded cooperation
"in a number of areas, including agriculture, education, economic
cooperation, and security."
As an official US statement on the Rao-Jones meeting here Friday
said they "both agreed that the vast range of cooperation between
us would set the foundation for a successful presidential visit
and further our strategic partnership."
But Obama is indeed keen to go for something significantly big
that would have his own stamp beyond the continuation of the
admittedly transformative nuclear deal conceived by his
predecessor George W Bush, informed and diplomatic sources told
IANS.
What that big thing would be, few are willing to tell or hazard a
guess for now.
(Arun Kumar can
be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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