IndiaUS

No Trump worry, US envoy says India-US ties will be on upswing

- by India Writes Network

Shed Trump anxiety; India-US relations will be on an upswing. This was the reassuring message from US envoy Richard Verma amid ripples of worries in some sections in India about what the incoming Trump presidency will bring for India.
Alluding to an all-round transformation of India-US relations in the last two years, Mr Verma, the first Indian-American to be appointed as the UA ambassador to India, underlined that the US will continue to support India’s rise and will be New Delhi’s closest partner in months to come. “India is a country on the rise. We will support India’s rise and continue to be your closest partner,” the US envoy told an audience of diplomats, businessmen and journalists at a luxury hotel in the Indian capital on December 6. He was speaking at an interaction organised by industry body CII and Indo-American Friendship Association.
Providing a snapshot of the dramatic upsurge in the India-US relations, Mr Verma projected that “this upward trajectory will continue.” Allaying apprehensions about any possible diminution of commitment by the Trump administration towards India, the envoy argued that the momentum in the India-US strategic partnership will continue as there is widespread bipartisan consensus across the political spectrum in Washington.

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Deconstructing Trump victory: What numbers tell

- by India Writes Network

As Donald Trump won a “stunning” victory, poll numbers of the “political earthquake” have already begun to be deconstructed. How was Trump able to upset the apple cart, when overwhelmingly all poll data before the elections showed Clinton as the likely president-elect? As ‘not my president’ becomes the rallying cry for American citizens who are shocked to see a political amateur become their leader, it is clear something somewhere was dismissed, not taken sufficiently into account or not factored at all into the equations. What is now being closely questioned is whether Trump won or Clinton lost — and it seems very likely that the latter is what won Trump the US presidency.

Donald Trump’s electoral map looks unlike what Republican nominee maps have usually looked like. Clearly, the rage of the rustbelt went under-appreciated, even in the Trump camp, where internal polling did not see a victory for the business tycoon. The same can be said of what is clearly a deeper anguish and anxiety over race. And thus, while it was expected that white, working class individuals with no more than a high-school education would form the base support for Trump, exit polls indicate that all white people, regardless of class, gender and education levels, took what a panelist on MSNBC called “the last stand” against the browning of America.
In the end, disinterest and apathy, sexism and a genuine dislike for Hillary Clinton, due to her close identification of the Washington status quo, are all factors that ended up costing Clinton the elections and tilting the balance in Trump’s favour.

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Trump triumphs, promises to remake America: Will he deliver?

- by India Writes Network

Republican leader and billionaire tycoon has won the US’ most tightly contested election and is set to become the 45th president of the United States of America. In his victory speech, Mr Trump has vowed to be the “president of all Americans” and to rebuild the nation that has been more divided than ever. The world and America will be watching closely how Mr Trump lives up to this promise.
Defeating rival Democrat Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump has won well above the required 270 votes to become the next president. Trump has won in key states of Florida (29 electoral votes), Pennsylvania (20), Ohio (18), Michigan (16) and North Carolina (15). The Republicans have also retained control of Congress, winning majority in both the Senate and House.
For the moment, he has pledged to “be a president for all Americans” in his victory speech, calling his campaign “a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people.” He has even reached out to all of his non-supporters in the past for their “guidance and help so we can unify our great country”. Pursuing such a track in the coming weeks and months may be the best indicator of an upcoming presidency headed by a business man, real-estate entrepreneur and reality TV star with no previous political experience who has time and again shown himself to be a nativist, racist, xenophobic and misogynist.

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Trump is next president of US, says it’s time to come together

- by India Writes Network

In a spectacular repudiation of the Washington establishment, Donald Trump has won the historic US presidential elections and will be the 45th president of the US.
The Republican candidate has already won 278 electoral college votes, against his arch rival Hillary Clinton’s 219 votes, giving him a comfortable victory.
“The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” Mr. Trump told supporters in the wee hours in New York City.
In a victory speech shortly after the results became clear, Mr Trump told his delirious supporters at his New York headquarters, to “come together as one united people.”
Hillary Clinton has conceded defeat.

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America Trumped: Don set for shock victory

- by India Writes Network

Defying pollsters and pundits, Donald Trump, the flamboyant and controversial billionaire, looks set for a shock victory in the historical US presidential election and is poised to become the 45th president of the United States.
In the elections that went down the wire, Mr Trump, known for his controversial views on Muslims, minorities and immigration, scored a spate of victories in swing states, tipping the balance decisively in his favour.
The Republican maverick managed to win key battleground states of Ohio, Florida and North Carolina, and also scored well in many Democratic bastions.
Mr Trump’s victory underscores deep resentment among large sections of Americans, especially blue-collar workers, with the Washington establishment.

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Taj beckons: Modi invites ‘good friend’ Obama to visit India, NSG a work in progress

- by India Writes Network

It was the last meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, but it looks like they will be seeing more of each other even after the American leader demits office.
“It was a very warm and friendly meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit. Both leaders reviewed the immediate priorities in the strategic partnership,” said sources after their meeting in Vientiane on September 8.
“PM also invited President Obama to visit India after he demits office,” said sources. “President Obama said that he would welcome any opportunity to visit India. As an aside, he added that he and Michelle were yet to see the Taj Mahal!”
It’s not clear what was discussed about the US’ plan to fast-track India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, for which the US support will always be crucial. There was, however, a cryptic hint that President Obama will do all he can and help in any way he can. “President Obama said that he has always been a friend of India and will continue to be a “strong partner of India and help in any way I can,”’ Said sources.
Reading between the lines, those in the know can expect that Mr Obama will do his best to advance India’s NSG membership, but going by current geopolitical complications and conflicted India-China relationship, New Delhi may have to wait a while before it enters the nuclear club as a member.

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A meeting of minds: US backs India against Pakistan-backed terrorism

- by Shweta Aggarwal

Marking a meeting of minds on a host of pressing issues, India and the US have decided to step their counter-terror cooperation, with Washington strongly backing India by renewing call to Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks to justice.
The second Strategic and Commercial Dialogue between India and the US ended on a high note, with both sides upbeat about the blossoming of bilateral relations in all spheres and underlining their resolve to take this strategic partnership to new heights.
The US’ robust backing on India’s concerns over Pakistan-sponsored terrorism was music to New Delhi’s ears. “The US supports all efforts to brining the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to justice… terror is terror no matter where it comes from,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry in New Delhi on August 30, after wide-ranging talks with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The two strategic partners also reiterated their resolve to intensify counter-terror cooperation. They will intensify intelligence sharing and specifically “work for the early operationalization of an agreement on exchanging information on known or suspected terrorists,” said Mrs Swaraj. The two sides also signed a framework agreement on combating cyber crimes.

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Logistics pact to tighten India-US strategic embrace

- by Manish Chand

In the emerging alphabet of India-US relations, another acronym LEMOA has been added as the two countries signed a landmark logistics exchange agreement that will enable their militaries to access each other’s military supplies and refuelling capabilities through ports and military bases.
The agreement was signed in Washington DC on August 29, a day before India and the US hold their second strategic and commercial dialogue in New Delhi. The pact is a leap of faith for India as the long-negotiated pact was bogged down in apprehensions in India regarding infringement of the country’s sovereignty in the military sphere. The inking of the pact underscores the Modi government’s design to risk political pressure to deepen military and strategic ties with the world’s most powerful country.
India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his US counterpart Ashton Carter lauded the signing of the bilateral ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement’ (52940157), saying the pact will facilitate opportunities for “practical engagement and exchange”.

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A new symphony: NSG tops agenda at India-US dialogue

- by Manish Chand

Ahead of the last meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama in China, India and the US will hold their second strategic and commercial dialogue in New Delhi, which will hopefully bring to closure some key issues on the bilateral agenda and map the way ahead.
The Strategic Dialogue will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Commercial Dialogue will be co-chaired by India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. The August 30 talks, which will be followed by the Modi-Obama meeting in on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, will cap more than a decade of blossoming of the India-US relations, which were transformed by the pathbreaking India-US nuclear deal in the summer of 2005.
With the bilateral relationship on a firm footing, the focus will be logically on the unfinished agenda during the last few months of the Obama presidency. For India, getting full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group tops the agenda as only a strong push from the US can swing around fence-sitters and sceptics.
In the end, with so much going on between the world’s largest democracies, PM Modi and President Obama will surely have a lot to commend each other for bringing the India-US relationship this far. Hesitations of history are passe, and “a new symphony is in place” as PM Modi said memorably in his speech to the US Congress. It’s time to play on, raise the bar and aim big…

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