NEW YORK -
The underlying message of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's first foray on to the international
stage was one of pragmatism. He sent a clear signal to
the United States and the world community that he seeks
stronger partnerships, despite major policy differences.
During his
six-day trip to attend the United Nations General
Assembly in New York City late last month, Manmohan met
US President George W Bush and Pakistani President
General Pervez Musharraf and attended the first-ever
summit of the Group of Four (G4), a grouping of India,
Japan, Germany and Brazil. The four countries announced
a united front to press for expansion of the UN Security
Council and to support each other's candidacy to become
permanent members. Manmohan also went to the New York
Stock Exchange - the first Indian prime minister to do
so - where he addressed the creme de la creme
of
America's corporate world, inviting investors to
contribute to India's efforts to modernize its
infrastructure.
One of the main purposes of
Manmohan's visit was to allay fears among US
policymakers about the direction of Indian foreign
policy under the new Congress-led coalition government
in New Delhi. The surprising defeat of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition in the general
elections in May had raised concerns in Washington about
the possibility of a reversal of Indian economic
reforms. The BJP is widely seen as more pro-US than the
Congress party, whose manifesto of pursuing reforms with
a "human face" was read by many in the US as code words
for a return to a socialist approach and to the primacy
of the state's role. The support of the leftist parties to
Manmohan's government only increased jitters as US
investors began questioning the future of India's
economic policies.
Manmohan, the
original architect of India's economic reforms in the
early 1990s, nevertheless had to reassert that there was
no going back to the bad old days of state control. He
came out strongly in favor of all things American, with a
few notable exceptions. He painted a broad picture of
a pragmatic India looking for its place in the sun
between a unilateralist US and the European powers who
are seeking to hem in the Americans. Keeping in mind
that without US support India doesn't stand a chance
of getting a permanent seat on the Security
Council, Manmohan made his argument for an Indo-US partnership
in the global arena that goes beyond the bilateral
agenda. He told the Council on Foreign Relations, a
premier foreign-policy think-tank, that a "real partnership
requires more than just a shared commitment to
democracy". Common values such as democracy must be
augmented by an "awareness of converging interests", he
said.
It was clear that Manmohan's
foreign-policy team has an ambitious agenda it wants to pursue
with the US, one that will go beyond the previous
government's ideas. He talked of an "accelerated
engagement based on partnership". Officials said that
even though India's position on the war against Iraq is
critical of the US, Manmohan agreed that India would
help in the Iraqi elections by training election
officials. The meeting between Bush and Manmohan was
seen as productive by both sides, and one senior US
official was heard remarking that they achieved more in
one hour with Manmohan than they would have in a month
with the previous prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
But as the cliche goes, the proof of the pudding
is in the eating. On the eve of Manmohan's visit, the
two sides concluded a much-awaited agreement designed to
increase India's access to US high technology. Weighed
down by the cumbersome Next Steps in Strategic
Partnership (NSSP) title, it is a complex deal of mutual
obligations. India has agreed to protect the dual-use
technology it will buy in the future, while the US has
agreed to liberalize the sale of high-tech goods India
desires. "The substantive implementation has now begun
and both sides have agreed to set in motion the entire
package with its components and sequences," a US analyst
explained.
The complex and technical deal formally
signals the end of the sanctions era against India.
The administration of president Bill Clinton had
imposed comprehensive sanctions against 200 Indian companies
and government departments in 1998 after its nuclear
tests. The Bush administration has slowly tried to
remove them and engage India in a comprehensive
relationship stretching from closer defense ties to
high-tech sales. So far India and the US have only
concluded Phase I of the NSSP, but both sides are eager
to clinch Phase II as soon as possible. The NSSP calls
for cooperation in four areas - civilian space programs,
civilian nuclear programs, high-tech sales and missile
defense.
Members of the Indian delegation
accompanying Manmohan to New York agreed that NSSP was
not enough to sustain a meaty bilateral relationship.
More initiatives that bring India and the US closer are
needed to realize the objectives of the true partnership
that Manmohan talked about in New York. US officials
have often complained that India shies away from a real
"global" role while demanding a permanent seat on the
Security Council. The example they most often use is
India's refusal to send troops to Iraq after informally
indicating that it might do so.
It
is no surprise
that the US has so far not endorsed India for a permanent
seat on the Security Council while Russia, the United
Kingdom and France have. Manmohan said he did not ask Bush,
clearly because he did not expect a positive answer.
At least not yet. But setting aside the differences,
Manmohan concentrated on the positive. He said
of Indo-US relations: "The best is yet to come," as he
stood beside Bush at the plush Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Indian
cooperation in both the Afghan and Iraqi elections
will go a long way in increasing the United States'
trust and confidence in India.
The meeting
Manmohan held with Musharraf was no less significant. In
a departure from the past, the two leaders spent nearly
an hour together without aides and note takers. They
then decided to read the press statement in an unplanned
move, showing they had developed a rapport. If the
Americans were worried about the new Indian government
making economic U-turns, Musharraf has been worried
about Manmohan's ability to move on the peace process
set in motion by Vajpayee. But while Manmohan charmed
him with Urdu couplets, he told him "unambiguously" that
Musharraf must ensure that no territory of Pakistan is
used for terrorism against India, a precondition laid
out in the January 6 statement signed by both countries
during the last summit. Musharraf, too, tried hard to
connect with Manmohan, bringing him a painting of Gah in
Pakistan, where Manmohan was born before the Indian
subcontinent was divided in 1947 to create India and
Pakistan. He also brought him old school records,
including mark sheets and photographs of people he might
have known at the time. Interestingly, India and
Pakistan are led by leaders who were born in each
other's country.
For the first time in nearly
five decades, the top leaders of India and Pakistan
discussed "options" to resolve the Kashmir dispute and
agreed to look at all possibilities with an open mind.
It is seen as a measure of the meeting's success that
the two moved so quickly along. There is a sense of
urgency on both sides to clinch something substantive
before another opportunity slips away.
Although some of Manmohan's
advisers admitted they were nervous before they set off
on this important trip, by the end they were flying high
on a series of successful meetings and the launching of
a few initiatives. Manmohan was in command of his facts
and spoke with a sense of confidence not contrived. As
one of them remarked, "India has a thinking prime
minister for the first time in many years." Seema Sirohi is a
Washington-based correspondent.
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