'Obama's India visit reflective of 'very big change' in ties'

Of all the presidential visits so far, including that of the Bill Clinton in 2000, Obama's travel to India 10 years later is the most "significant upping" of the relationship, officials said.

By PTI | Updated: Jan 21, 2015, 08.16 PM IST

'Obama's India visit reflective of 'very big change' in ties'

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama's advancing of the State of the Union Address to accommodate his India visit is reflective of the "very big change" in Indo-US ties, even as no "big" surprises were on the cards during the trip, officials said today.

Of all the presidential visits so far, including that of the Bill Clinton in 2000, Obama's travel to India 10 years later is the most "significant upping" of the relationship, officials said.

This shows that the bilateral relationship between the two largest democratic countries of the world has matured and is no longer seen in the US from the prism of Pakistan and China, they said ahead of Obama's three-day visit to India beginning Sunday.

The State of the Union address, which he delivered today, was advanced and it took place before the time it is usually held -- around last week of January. Last year it was held on January 28, in 2013 it was held in February first week because of the President's inauguration and in 2012 it was held on January 24.

The advancement of the date for the address was co-ordinated earlier and there was no change in date. Normally it is held on the last Tuesday of January, but there is no set tradition.

In the last few months, officials from the two countries have literally burnt the mid-night oil to put the relationship back on track and the new Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a series of steps to address the concerns of the US and so has the Obama Administration, a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

Obama, sources said, quickly accepted the invitation to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade as there is a sense in his Administration that India under Modi is energised, there are more opportunities for American businesses, and would be more influential in the coming years towards emerging as a key global power in its own right.

Also, unlike the rise of China there is a feeling in the US that the rise of India or a strong India does not pose a threat to the US and in fact it is in the American national interest.

"So the need to embrace India and the visit is part of that US effort to reinvest in a rising Indian stock," the sources said.

Otherwise, there is no explanation to the fact that the President of the United States has changed the timing of the State of the Union Address and the fact that he is willing to take four days off from Washington DC just for one country, sources said.

India watchers familiar with the deliberations between the officials of the two countries said that so far all indications are that there would be no "big" surprises during Obama's India trip.

Noting that the agenda was laid out very clearly in the September 30 joint statement after the Modi-Obama meeting at the White House, the official said there would be progress and the relationship would be reviewed.

As reported, there would be progress in the defence sector and several other aspects of the bilateral ties -- reflective of the strong continuity.

"I do not think, anything significantly new has come up," a source said, but quickly pointed out that Modi is known for his surprises and out of the box thinking.

The visit has helped in "stepping on the gas", the official said.

The activity had already started even when the visit was not on the horizon. There was a very intense set of meeting on technology and defence. The style of working today is much more intensive today than was in the past, the official said.

The very fact that Obama would be making a rare public appearance for more than two hours at the Parade with hundreds and thousands of people, which is not even considered safe in the US, "tells a lot" about the nature and status of the relationship, officials said.

This also shows that Obama thinks that "all this is worthwhile" to invest his time and energy with India, sources said.

Another India watcher said the joint statement to be released after the Modi-Obama meet in New Delhi would convince people from the two countries that a lot of progress has been made in the relationship.

"The joint statement would show that the India-US ties are better on January 26 than it was on September 30," the sources said.

However, the sources said that there is a larger calculation that under Prime Minister Modi, it looks like India has got re-energised, things are going to happen, India is going to be influential, important, perhaps more opportunities for the US will be there and it is worth investing the time and effort in India.

Describing it as a "judgement call on India's prospects", the sources said it is worthwhile for the US President to make that investment.

Such a call was made in a different way when the then US President, George W Bush, decided to enter into a civilian nuclear deal with India and thus end the discrimination of India in this regard.

Seasoned foreign diplomats said they had never heard of such an idea of a US President being the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade all through the past several decades.

"It came from nowhere," sources said, adding that till the idea popped up it did not cross anybody's mind.

In addition to discussing regional and global issues, the two leaders are expected to focus in a big way on economic issues.

Noting that Prime Minister Modi has tied his foreign policy with his domestic development agenda, sources said it would be fair to say that there would be considerable focus on economy and development related stuff in the talks and the joint statement.

Further, there could be some development in the defence and security area, and the situation in the neighbourhood, Afghanistan and Pakistan, would definitely come up for discussion.

Energy sector would another area of discussion and progress would be shown during the talks. The shift in focus on renewable energy in particular solar -- which is close to the heart of both the leaders -- is another area likely to be discussed during the talks.

There is a possibility of movement on the unfinished agenda and contentious liability issue of the India-US civilian nuclear deal, sources said, adding that the occasion could also be used to make announcements by India to make travel and tourism easier.

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What to expect from US president Barack Obama's visit

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Washington wants forward movement on Nuclear Liability Law that would enable GE and Westinghouse to enter Indian market and make the civil nuclear deal of 2008 operational.

India too is keen to break the logjam and is working on a model that will have a pool of insurance companies giving guarantees to reactor suppliers besides diluting the provision in the law that makes the supplier liable in case of an accident.

A similar arrangement was also reached with the Russian side whose nuclear fi rms are, however, state-run. GoI thinks such an arrangement will also encourage Indian private players to get into manufacturing reactors