When he journeys to India Sunday, President Obama will aim to strengthen the relationship between the world’s two largest democracies, but a House Republican with extensive India experience says the visit needs to be more than just a celebration of a patriotic holiday.
Obama set the tone for the visit by calling India a “true global” partner while pressing its neighbor Pakistan to stop harboring terrorist safe havens and bring those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks to justice.
“I’ve made it clear that even as the U.S. works with Pakistan to meet the threat of terrorism, safe havens within Pakistan are not acceptable,” Obama said in an interview with India Today. “As president I have made sure that the U.S. has been unrelenting in its fight against terrorist groups – a fight in which Indians and Americans are united.”
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., told the Washington Examiner the visit “needs to be about more than just good visuals.” Royce is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a former chair of the Congressional Caucus on India.
There are few concrete goals for Obama’s visit, which is expected to be largely symbolic and focus on new partnerships on climate change, trade and counter-terrorism efforts. But both sides are hoping to ease recent tensions over trade and economic issues.
“I think [Obama] sees this potentially as a transitional if not transformation[al] moment for the relationship,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser.
The U.S. wants India to open its markets to more foreign investment and to stop intellectual property violations, some of which are still pending at the World Trade Organization.
One concrete development expected from the trip is a revision of a landmark civil nuclear agreement between the two countries forged in 2008 that has been languishing. India’s liability legislation has prevented many U.S. companies from taking advantage of the business opportunities the deal created.
By accepting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation, Obama will become the first American president to attend India’s annual Republic Day festivities, which celebrate the day in 1950 when the country’s constitution became law.
Modi and Obama have an easy chemistry that was strengthened last fall during the India leader’s visit to Washington. The two visited the Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial together and discussed the links between King and Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent approach to societal change.
The two also relate to one another’s rise in politics from humble beginnings. Modi, 64, was born to a family of grocers and worked as an underground political organizer before his rise in his party’s politics.
“I think just the humble origins from which both of them came from and the opportunities presented to both of them within democracy — the ability for anyone at any position within the strata of society to rise to be the leader of that nation — I think from the outset established a certain space in which the two leaders were able to engage in these conversations,” said Phil Reiner, senior director at the National Security Council for South Asia.
Obama and first lady Michelle, as well as a large delegation of administration officials and U.S. business executives, arrive in New Delhi Sunday for a three-day visit that includes a CEO roundtable, a summit of business leaders, both U.S. and Indian, and as a major speech from Obama on his vision for the future of the U.S.-Indian relationship.
Following the speech, Obama and the first lady will visit the Taj Mahal.
The president is the first U.S. president to visit India twice while in office, having traveled there in 2010 for an economic summit.
In the intervening years, the two countries have strengthened their military cooperation and defense sales, but have tangled on economic and trade matters.
“The critical U.S. relationship with India has lagged the last several years,” Royce, who managed the historic U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement on the House floor back in 2006, told the Examiner. “This visit is a jumpstart chance not to be missed.”
Because Modi has promised to re-energize India’s economy, the trip offers an opportunity for the administration to make serious strides in promoting stronger trade relations, Royce said.
“If we’re to meet the administration’s goal of $500 billion in bilateral trade, the president needs to take significant steps in helping to open up Indian markets,” he said.
Obama should also make headway in the long-stalled nuclear agreement, and in renewing the two countries’ Defense Framework Agreement and improving intelligence cooperation.
“With the significant threat that India faces from radicalism, renewing the Defense Framework Agreement should be a top priority,” Royce said. “We also need to see an increase in high-level visits by each country’s various intelligence and security agencies.”
“Our cooperation is strong, but there remains a need for greater engagement,” said Royce.
