Global Indian News
WASHINGTON: A warm handshake, mutual praise and talk of the two democracies converging on a wide range of issues. It was a positive start as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, sporting his trademark red tie, sat down for talks in the White House on June 26 to map the way forward for the India-US relationship for the next four years.
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It promises to be a gourmet meal as the leaders of the world’s oldest and largest democracies have their first full-spectrum meeting and dinner in Washington DC on June 26. The buzz and hype surrounding India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fifth visit to the US is relatively subdued – the carnival-like festive atmosphere and feverish energy that marked his first visit to the US, with his rock-star like show at Madison Square Garden, in September 2014 seems a distant echo, but even though the horizon of expectations has shrunk there are still some appetising dishes on the table which both sides can pick and choose to suit their taste and some serious business to transact.
Looking ahead, cutting through minutiae and complexity of issues, the really important question for India is whether the new US president believes in a “New India” which PM Modi is trying to create and whether this new India synthesises with Trump’s promise of Making America Great Again. If there is win-win fit, then indeed the chronic “hesitations of history” will be passe, and a new symphony can steer India-US relations onto a higher trajectory. Read more…
US President Donald Trump has made many positive remarks about India, has made several complaints against the Chinese policies and has shown his determination to crush Islamic extremism.
Since about 20 percent of organisations, designated as terrorist organisations by the US, happen to be located in the Af-Pak region, the US-Pakistan relations cannot be trouble-free.
The strategic scenario in the region provides a fertile ground for India-US ties to flourish, but Washington and New Delhi need to tread carefully, keeping in mind each other’s concerns.
Current signals indicate that the Indo-US ties under the Trump Administration will face no major difficulties in further boosting the emerging strategic partnership between the two countries. But it is better to wait and watch in view of the paradigm change, expected in the ways the US engages the world, under the Trump Presidency.
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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump on June 26 is one of the most keenly awaited events in the diplomatic calendars of the world’s biggest democracy and its most powerful one. Compared to Mr Modi’s first US visit as prime minister in 2014, that included an impressive rally at Madison Square Garden with legions of cheering Indian-Americans in attendance, this time round, the White House meeting takes centre stage. This suggests that the Indian leader wants to focus more on establishing a firm foundation for New Delhi to work with the relatively new US administration.
During his two-day sojourn in the US, Mr Modi is expected to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues — from economic and defence cooperation to Indo-Pakistan relations and immigration. But of especial significance, perhaps, would be the talks on regional security and terrorism. Both Washington and New Delhi have their own reasons for ensuring continued stability in South and Central Asia. While the two sides have often reiterated the need to espouse a zero-tolerance stance towards terrorism, Mr Modi would do well to impress upon the US president that no discussion on counter-terrorism would be meaningful without considering the role of Pakistan in supporting terror groups.
Amid Belt and Road concerns in New Delhi and Beijing’s continuing ambivalence over India’s NSG membership, the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazakh capital Astana will be watched closely in the region.
The Modi-Xi meeting will be the first high-level contact between the two leaders since they last met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Goa in October last year. At that point, the two leaders had decided to move beyond their differences over New Delhi’s NSG membership to concentrate on expanding economic relationship. But since then, bilateral relations between the two Asian giants have come under further strain due to a host of reasons, including Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the visit of a high-profile Taiwanese delegation to India and New Delhi’s uncompromising opposition to One Belt, One Road project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s six-day four nations visit is a major initiative to build a new architecture in the backdrop of a serious challenge to the crumbling post World War II global order.
The rapid rise of China and reneging of the US from its international and multilateral commitments, along with Washington’s retreat into bilateralism under US President Donald Trump’s administration, has thrown up serious challenges for world leaders.
After the one hour long talks under the framework of India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations on May 30, global terrorism, climate change, role of free trade, importance of investment protection and bilateral cooperation in skill development, tapping of solar energy and urban development were given special focus.
“Pace of development of our relations is fast, direction positive and destination clear. Germany will always find India as powerful, prepared and capable partner,” Mr Modi said at a joint press interaction with Chancellor Merkel.
Following talks between the delegations of two countries led by Modi and Merkel respectively, the two sides also signed 12 MOUs/ agreements in areas of cyber policy, development initiatives, sustainable urban development, continued development of cluster managers and skill development, digitalization, railway security and promoting vocational training.
A day after an international court stayed the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer accused of spying, India signalled its wariness with Pakistan by stressing that asking for peace talks are an excuse for avoiding real peace and reflect a position that “may be hypocritical.”
“When anyone asks for peace talks, it does not necessarily mean that that country is asking for peace. And one has to measure that difference very carefully,” Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar said in the Indian capital New Delhi after launching a pioneering journal on international affairs, entitled “India and World” on May 19.
“Do you want peace or do you want peace talks as an excuse for a position that may be hypocritical? And our reaction will be based on the larger assessment of what you mean,” said the minister, without naming Pakistan. Published by India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and edited by Manish Chand, a well-known foreign affairs analyst and author of “Journeys Across Continents: A New India on the Global Stage,” India and World seeks to present India’s viewpoints on pressing international issues and debates amid shifting global equations and a mutating world order. The birth of a new publication on global affairs is a cause for celebrations at a time when India’s engagement with the world is steadily expanding, said Mr Akbar.
In a diplomatic triumph and victory of justice over duplicity, the International Court of Justice has stayed the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer accused of espionage by Pakistan, and upheld India’s right to consular access to him. The judge’s verdict was unambiguous: “Pakistan should not executive Jadhav till proceedings are on in this court.”
The ICJ’s verdict triggered rejoicing in India, with the external affairs ministry’s spokesperson Gopal Bagley underlining that the provisional relief provided by the ICJ is the first step in ensuring justice to Jadhav. “We hope it will help remedy egregious violations of Jadhav’s rights & violations of international convention by Pakistan,” said Mr Bagley.
“We hope concerned authorities in Pakistan have heard, ICJ said that this order creates legally binding international obligation,” he said.
The verdict came as a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government had made it clear that it will do everything possible to save Mr Jadhav from the gallows and deceitful snare of Pakistan. “I assure the nation that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi we will leave no stone unturned to save Kulbhushan Jadhav,” said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Ms Swaraj stressed that the order comes as “a great relief to the family of Kulbhushan Jadhav and people of India.”
In a defining step to promote regional solidarity and cooperation, India has launched the South Asia Satellite, a pioneering initiative that will touch and transform the lives of people of seven countries in the region.
The South Asia Satellite, a dream that was birthed less than three years ago and a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was successfully launched today by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from Sriharikota on May 5.
The leaders of seven South Asian countries, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, and Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena joined India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an unprecedented video-conference held to mark the launch.
The launch of South Asia Satellite marks the fulfilment of India’s commitment and also the beginning of the journey to build the most advanced frontier of our partnership, said Mr Modi at this historic occasion. “With its position high in the sky, this symbol of South Asian cooperation would meet the aspirations of economic progress of more than one-and-a-half billion people in our region. And, extend our close links into Outer Space,” he said.
The South Asia Satellite demonstrated that “our collective choices for our citizens will bring us together for cooperation, not conflict; development, not destruction; and prosperity not poverty,” he said.
The audacious killing of two Indian security men and mutilation of their bodies by Pakistani troops along the de facto border between the two countries in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state has sparked outrage and challenged New Delhi to walk its tough talk against cross-border terror.
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