By Neena Shenai
| Great, long op-ed piece at The American (AEI news rag) about Obama's visit to India. Just the first few paragraphs here. Let's hope Obama doesn't blow this one; the USA-India relationship is one of the most important ones for the next half-century. |
At the upcoming state visit, the challenge for President Obama is to make sure that the United States works closely with India on the issues of mutual concern.
It is a testament to how far the U.S.-India relationship has come that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the first foreign leader granted an official state visit to the Obama White House. Amid the pomp and circumstance of the visit next week, both countriesÂ’ leaders will speak in lofty terms about the present and future of the U.S.-India strategic partnership. But what does this partnership with India actually mean for U.S. foreign policy?
The answer will depend on the extent to which the Obama administration sees the interests of India and the United States aligning on key administration priorities. While President Obama has expounded on the importance of U.S.-India ties, the administrationÂ’s actual prioritization of India remains at best unclear. President ObamaÂ’s foreign policy agenda is dominated by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and climate change policy. The latter two issues are also significant priorities for India and are areas ripe for bilateral cooperation. Yet the United States and India have not always seen eye-to-eye and significant differences remain. The challenge for President Obama is to make sure that the United States works closely with India on these critical issues of mutual concern so that this bilateral relationship is in fact a strong and enduring strategic partnership. Without this effort, the strategic partnership will amount to naught. |