G R O U N D   Z E R O

ground zero
Need to put the mojo back into Indo-US relations
Raj Chengappa

If US Secretary of State John Kerry hoped that his ‘kiss and make up’ trip last week would re-engage and re-energise Indo-US relations he must have gone back feeling a trifle jilted. Not that Kerry should have expected anything better. For more than a decade, the US had treated Narendra Modi as an outcast, refusing to give him a visa after the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Only when it was apparent that Modi would become the next Prime Minister did the US begin to woo him in earnest.

To the relief of the US Administration, after Modi assumed office as Prime Minister he made it clear that he bears no personal grudge for the treatment. President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to Parliament in June outlining the new government’s priority stated, “My government will bring a renewed vigour to our engagement (with the US) and intensify it in all areas, including trade, investment, science and technology, energy and education.”

Kerry’s visit was to lay the groundwork for Modi’s meeting with Obama. Reuters

US President Barack Obama, who was among the first world leaders to call up and congratulate Modi for his electoral victory, extended an invitation to make an official visit to Washington DC. The Modi-Obama summit is now scheduled for end September when the Indian Prime Minister goes to New York to address the UN General Assembly. Modi is also expected to address a joint sitting of the US Congress — a gesture that signalled the importance that Obama places on putting the mojo back in Indo-US relations.

Kerry’s visit was to reset the relationship between the two countries and lay the groundwork for signing some substantial agreements during Modi’s meeting with Obama. Though bilateral interactions between the two countries have never been as intense as now — there are 33 dialogue structures on a range of subjects — relations have admittedly been on a plateau in the past year. That was partly because the Indian General Election was underway and also because the Obama administration was preoccupied with domestic issues and on the international front busy fire fighting in Afghanistan, Ukraine and now West Asia.

There was also much disappointment in the US, particularly among power companies who had hoped that after the landmark Indo-US deal in 2008 they would be able to bag substantial orders for nuclear power plants and related technology. While the Indian nuclear establishment benefited from the deal with the import of nuclear fuel to run its power plants to capacity, US companies have so far unable to clinch any power projects because of the stiff liability law passed by the Indian Parliament.

Several other major dampers shadowed Kerry as he flew into Delhi last week, accompanied by an impressive entourage of officials, and met Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley apart from Prime Minister Modi. Top among them was the Modi government’s decision to oppose the Trade Facilitation Agreement at the meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva unless a suitable policy and time frame was fixed for permitting countries such as India to continue its subsidies towards farmers and consumers of food grain. Kerry did raise the subject with both Swaraj and Modi but found the Indian government unrelenting on its demands.

The other issue that bedevilled Kerry’s visit was reports that the US government’s national security apparatus had snooped on Indian political leaders, just as it had done in many other countries. Swaraj had expressed India’s strong disapproval of such measures and Kerry, who didn’t deny such reports, made polite assurances that the US was reviewing the entire business. India also raised the issue of the new immigration Bill that would make it difficult and costlier for Indians — both individuals and companies — to get work permits or do business with US entities. Particularly hit would be the Indian IT sector. Kerry had no concessions to offer on this.

The US is now keen to boost economic ties as the next big thing after the nuclear deal. American business is clearly interested in the new government’s proposals to establish 100 smart cities and Kerry talked of a pact for the US to assist India in establishing infrastructure needed for setting up these cities when Modi meets Obama. The US is also pushing for a fivefold increase in the current annual trade figure of $100 billion between the two countries and is exploring announcing a manufacturing or industrial pact during the summit related to co-development and offsets.

Chuck Hagel, US Defence Secretary, will visit Delhi later this week to firm up defence ties, including the purchase of US missiles and transport aircraft. On the nuclear front, India is requesting US companies to opt for the Russian model where the impact of the stringent liability clause could be monetised in the project proposals to set up nuclear plants. Instead of paying lip service to climate change, the US must put on the table collaborative projects on clean and green technology that could transform India’s non-conventional energy sector, particularly in the area of solar power. When Obama and Modi meet next month they must work towards injecting passion and ardour into the engagement if, as the US President believes, relations with India are to be the defining partnership of the 21st century.

raj@tribuneindia.com