Chicago, October 23
A stronger relationship with India and a close strategic partnership will be a “top priority” of a Barack Obama administration, says Democratic presidential candidate.

“The US should be working with India on a range of critical issues from preventing terrorism to promoting peace and stability in Asia,” Senator Obama said in an exclusive interview with IANS, the first with a South Asian journalist, after his nomination for the presidency by the Democratic Party.

“Joe Biden and I will make building a stronger relationship, including a close strategic partnership, with India a top priority”, he said.

On his agenda for working with New Delhi,he said: “I also believe India is a natural strategic partner for America in the 21st century and that the US should be working with India on a range of critical issues from preventing terrorism to promoting peace and stability in Asia.”

In the interview, Obama elaborated on a wide range of issues,from comprehensive immigration reforms and making globalisation and trade work for American workers, to seeking the active participation of the Indian American community in the process of change that he has advocated.

He said he would support "comprehensive immigration reforms", including the H1-B visa programme, “to attract some of the world’s most talented people to America”.

Obama explained that he wanted to end abuses of the H1-B visas being used by highly-qualified specialists to work in the US.He added that he would make “immigrant workers less dependent on their employers

for their right to stay in the country, and would hold accountable employers who abuse the system and their workers”.

The Obama administration, he said, would seek to strengthen ties with the “vibrant” Indian American community and encourage their “active engagement... in making the change we seek”.

He asserted the Democratic nomination was running on manifesto of “inclusiveness, optimism and hope” that would translate into a “progressive presidency”.

On the contentious election topics of outsourcing and globalisation, he said: “We know that we cannot and should not put up walls around our economy.”

Obama has deep roots in Chicago, having started his career as a community organiser in the city.

From his days as an Illinois Senator, he has had strong links with the city’s growing Indian American community.

He has worked regularly on issues ranging from reforms in immigration and campaign finance, to healthcare and education, with Illinois’ premier Indian political networking group, the Indo-American Democratic Organisation.

Excerpts:

Q: Immigrants have, over the years, made a critical contribution to the United States. But now the US stands to lose its leadership in the sciences, in part because of restrictive immigration policies. Do you plan to reform immigration laws so that the US is once again a magnet for talent from around the world?

A: I have played a leading role in crafting comprehensive immigration reforms and believe that our broken immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside and offering a solution that strengthens our security while reaffirming our heritage as a nation of immigrants. I believe we must secure our borders, fix our broken immigration bureaucracy, and require the 12 million undocumented to get on a responsible path to citizenship. They must pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for citizenship. I will also increase the number of people we allow in the country legally to a level that unites families and meets the demand for jobs which employers cannot fill.

Q: Many economists have asserted that in an increasingly globalised world, it is counter-productive to restrict the flow of capital, labour and jobs. Do you plan to restrict outsourcing, or would you prefer that American companies respond to this threat by moving up the value chain instead?

A: Revolutions in communications and technology have sent jobs wherever there’s an internet connection, and have forced workers in Chicago and Boston to compete for those jobs with workers in Bangalore and Beijing. We live in a more competitive world, and that is a fact that cannot be reversed. We know that we cannot and should not put up walls around our economy. But we must find a way to make globalisation and trade work for American workers.

Q: What are your views on the demand made by several US companies, including Microsoft, that the US needs to increase the number of work visas (H1-B) to protect its technological leadership?

A: I support comprehensive immigration reforms that include improving our visa programmes, including the H1-B programme, to attract some of the world’s most talented people to America. I would like to see immigrant workers less dependent on their employers for their right to stay in the country, and would hold accountable employers who abuse the system and their workers.

Q: You have voted for the Indo-US nuclear deal.Would you consider India a strategic partner with the United States in its efforts to promote stability in the Asian region?

A: I am an advocate of strengthening US relations with India, the world’s largest democracy and a growing economic power. I voted for the India civilian nuclear cooperation deal in 2006 and have since worked to ensure that the agreement is implemented properly so that Indians benefit from expanded energy sources and that nuclear proliferation concerns are addressed. I also believe that India is a natural strategic partner for America in the 21st century and that the US should be working with India on a range of critical issues from preventing terrorism to promoting peace and stability in Asia. Joe Biden and I will make building a stronger relationship, including a close strategic partnership, with India a top priority. — IANS