Modi’s US visit carries promise

The joint editorial written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama for the Washington Post is emblematic. It neatly sums up the sentiment underlying the just concluded official visit of the Indian Prime Minister to the United States. Writings of this kind are not unknown. But an article under joint authorship by the political leaders of a developing country and the world’s principal power is decidedly new. At a fundamental level, it expresses the ambition of being in step with one another over the long haul.

That’s just fine. India and the US, the two “estranged democracies” of yesteryears, have travelled some distance in their exceedingly complex relationship that didn’t untwine smoothly even after the end of the Cold War but has gained momentum in the last 15 years, although this process has not been without hiccups. Despite the unsettling element of America historically leaning toward Pakistan usually to this country’s detriment, the US in 2005 did help India to break out of nuclear isolation. This single factor has helped to grease the wheels of our bilateral relationship which has acquired unique positive properties although it is axiomatic that points of tension will remain between the world’s most powerful country and a regional heavyweight that seeks to forge ahead.

It is in this backdrop that Mr Modi’s trip to America needs to be considered. The atmospherics were first rate and a lot of ground was sought to be covered. For the past three years the momentum in ties had sagged on account of the Indian economy slowing down for a variety of reasons and because the Obama administration was distracted owing to unsettling events in West Asia and the dip in the American economy — which is only lately showing signs of picking up — causing concerns not just domestically but worldwide.

The Indian leader’s Washington visit carries much promise in diverse fields, especially in the areas of defence and security, the fight against terrorism, the infusion of technology, and enhancement of trade and investment. Even so, the description in the joint editorial of the mutual ties being “robust, reliable and enduring” can be said to be overstated at this stage. Other than the United Kingdom, and possibly Japan, perhaps no country in the world will find it easy to sustain a claim of such magnitude.

After Mr Modi’s visit, there is expectation of considerable investment flows from the US. But we’ll do well to be realistic. An article by editors of Bloomberg, the leading American financial news and analysis platform, suggests that only majority foreign ownership will tempt US private investments in India in key sectors, especially defence. A decided plus, however, is the plan for a joint Mars mission. That encapsulates a lot.