Obama’s sojourn a bilateral communion: NK Singh

NEW DELHI - Feb. 16, 2015 - PRLog -- The pomp and ceremony around Obama’s sojourn was just a prelude to the two leaders walking the talk on strengthening bilateral trade and strategic cooperation, writes NK Singh.  As symbolic and historic it was, Obama’s visit has left an indelible mark on the bilateral equations of the two nations.

The most significant of the many takeaways from his visit is the progress made in the spheres of defense and intelligence cooperation. Moving forward on the civil nuclear deal, both nations displayed subliminal willingness to achieve a breakthrough on the long-standing issue.

The initiative displayed by Mr.Modi particularly highlights India’s position on the deal his party had an antagonistic stand on when in the Opposition. And though the specifics are not yet out, the US diplomats nevertheless seem enthused by India’s efforts in resolving the civil nuclear stalemate.

That said, US companies are still ambivalent about the insurance pool India has proposed to mitigate investment risks, so considering the deal to have come through may be jumping the gun a bit at the moment. But the wheels have certainly been set in motion with the govt. initiating clearing away of bottlenecks.

The US, by backing India for a permanent membership in the UN Security Council, demonstrated its reiteration of India having greater influence globally writes NK Singh.

The two governments then came together to issue a joint strategic vision for leveraging Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions which is potentially the most significant bilateral announcements ever made by the two nations.

Moreover, Modi appeared in his zone while trying to amalgamate India’s Look East and the US’ Asia vision.  Contrary to the preceding UPA, his government is more aligned with opening up to the US pivot

The Declaration of Friendship has added another dimension to the strengthening ties and will be a crucial vehicle for building on this bilateral communion in the coming years, writes NK Singh.

Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/nksingh_mp