India-US partnership can help meet challenges facing world: US official

Robert O. Blake.

A senior United States official has said that few relationships around the world mattered more or held greater promise for constructive action on the challenges that mattered most to all than the partnership between India and the US.

"That doesn’t mean that we will always agree, because we won’t," Mr Robert O Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs said at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Friday.

"But together we can build on the solid foundation that already exists, an even stronger partnership that serves not only the interests of our two countries, but of the rest of the international community," he said.

He said the US and India shared common ideals and complementary strengths reflected in their very close people-to-people contacts, their shared embrace of democratic principles and their willingness to work together on issues that matter not only to them, but to the global community.

Mr Blake's address was the on theme of seizing on the opportunties before the US in its relations with India and he used the opportunity to tell his audience why India was such an important partner for the US and the ways the two countries were seeking to build this partnership.

He said India was the fourth largest economy in the world, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, thanks to the reforms begun by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and had a vibrant private sector and the largest number of billionaires in Asia.

He also pointed out that India faced serious challenges, with large sections of its population still suffering from poverty, malnourishment, illiteracy and lack of access to clean water, among other problems.

"But as we look at the web of challenges we face from North Korea to the Middle East and beyond, we see India as a model of a tolerant, pluralistic society with a democratic system of government. We see a country where increasingly convergent values and interests have allowed us to forge a strategic friendship that benefits both Indians and Americans. And we see promise that as India’s economy grows and its stature rises, it will be an increasingly important, and influential friend of the United States, buttressed in part by our strong people to people ties," he said.

Mr Blake said the India-US partnership would be one of the defining relationships in American foreign policy. He said that, in recognition of India's importance, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had visited the country last July to launch with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna a Strategic Dialogue which called for increased collaboration under five foundational pillars: strategic cooperation; energy and climate change; education and development; economics, trade and agriculture; and science, technology, health and innovation.

He also pointed out that, in a further signal of India's importance to the US, President Barack Obama had hosted Dr Singh in November for the first state visit of the Obama presidency. He said Mr Obama had further underscored the importance of India to the US by promising to make a reciprocal visit to India, most likely later this year.

"Both countries believe we now have a unique opportunity to make progress on our broad bilateral agenda," he said.

Mr Blake said the Congress Party’s unexpectedly strong showing in last year’s elections gave Dr Singh a mandate to proceed with his agenda "without the brake of unhelpful coalition allies like the Left that he had in his first term."

"We have bipartisan support in both countries for pursuing stronger ties. And we have in Prime Minister Singh a leader with vision, experience, and a firm commitment to deepening the warm ties between our two peoples," he said.

Mr Blake said the India-US civil nuclear deal turned probably the most significant irritant in bilateral relations into an opportunity for cooperation.

"This has the potential to lead to billions of dollars worth of opportunities for American companies, and many thousands of jobs as a result of that. A few more steps are still required, and we expect them to be completed in the next few months," he said.

On defence cooperation, he said the bilateral exercise programme continued to grow and to strengthen. He said defence sales were also of great interest to American companies. "We’ve already seen some very important defense sales just in the last year or two of C-130Js and P-8 maritime patrol aircraft. The Indian government also recently submitted a Letter of Request for 10 C-17 aircraft worth about $2.5 billion. And that’s not the end of it," he said.

Mr Blake said there were large numbers of important potential deals, up to $18 billion worth of new opportunities that will become available in the next several years, most notably the multi-role combat aircraft purchase which by itself is a roughly $10 billion sale in which two American companies—Boeing and Lockheed Martin—were competing.

"That the Indians are now considering U.S. manufacturers and U.S. technology to meet their military aircraft requirements—which would have been unimaginable just 10 years ago—is just one measure of how far and how rapidly our relationship is evolving," he said.

He said a critical component of the strategic cooperation framework was counterterrorism and the two countries were cooperating more and more, particularly since the horrific November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

He also spoke about the area of nuclear non-proliferation, in which the two countries could work more closely as partners.

Referring to regional dynamic between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mr Blake said all three countries faced the common threat of terrorism.

"While we would like to see India and Pakistan reach a stable relationship, they will do so on their terms at the appropriate time.

"At the same time, India has become a valuable, in fact, a top five contributor to Afghanistan’s reconstruction. India has contributed valuable assistance to Afghanistan’s reconstruction, both in infrastructure, such as construction of the Parliament building and highways, and humanitarian, such as food aid to 2 million schoolchildren. It has pledged over $1.2 billion in assistance," he said.

Mr Blake also spoke at length on the bilateral cooperation in the areas of agriculture and trade, education, health, science and technology, innovation, energy and climate change.

NNN