Obama in India: New Horizons

[youtube id=”P-C5ySMPK0U”]The countdown has begun for the blockbuster diplomatic event of the year. Senior officials of India and the US are working overtime to ensure that the visit by President Barack Obama to India as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations (on January 26, 2015) will be a defining moment in the history of relations between the world’s oldest and largest democracies.

Ahead of the presidential visit, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar January 10 and held wide-ranging discussions to firm up substantive outcomes during Mr Obama’s trip to India. Mr Kerry has identified four key areas which are expected to see a forward movement during the presidential visit. These include renewable energy and climate change cooperation agreement; the fast-tracking of the India-US nuclear deal; strengthening of the defence partnership agreement; and bolstering of the economic partnership.

Amid reports of terror threats targeting India, Mr Kerry has said that the two strategic partners will be looking to bolster their joint fight against terrorism.

Striking an upbeat note, Mr Kerry has conveyed that President Obama is really happy to be the first US President to be visiting India twice.

For Mr Modi, getting President Obama to accept his invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations is nothing short of a diplomatic coup. This will be the first time an American president will be the chief guest on India’s national day.

Having firmed up an ambitious blueprint entitled “Chalein Saath Saath, Forward Together We Go,” during his maiden visit to Washington in September 2014, Prime Minister Modi will be looking to get the US’ proactive support for his Make in India mission and the project of transforming India through smart cities. The defining partnership of the 21^st century, as President Obama has said famously, is poised to scale new frontiers in the months to come.

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