Scripting anew: Obama, Modi co-author vision article on India-US ties in US daily

“Chalein Saath, Saath: forward we go together.” This emerging India-US bonding, with its promise of working together on a host of bilateral and global issues, will be reflected in a joint op-ed article co-authored by US President Barack Obama and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The article, which was approved only hours before the two leaders sat down for an informal dinner at the White House, will be published in a leading American daily, likely to be the Washington Post.

This is the first time the leaders of India and the US will be co-authoring a newspaper article, reflecting their resolve to script a new chapter in the multi-faceted India-US relations.

Informed sources told www.indiawrites.org that the op-ed article will present a big-picture vision of the India-US relations, which President Obama has called “the defining partnership of the 21^st century.” The article will underline the determination of the two leaders to map out new frontiers in the evolving partnership which occasionally get mired in perception issues and trust problems. The article will seek to encapsulate key themes reflected in the joint vision statement for the US-India Strategic Partnership that was released hours before Mr Obama hosted Mr Modi for a private dinner at the White House. The September 29 vision statement said: “As leaders of two great democratic nations with diverse traditions and faiths, we share a vision for a partnership in which the US and India work together, not just for the benefit of both our nations, but for the benefit of the world.”

“We have a vision that the United States and India will have a transformative relationship as trusted partners in the 21st century. Our partnership will be a model for the rest of the world,” said the statement.

The idea of a co-authored op-ed article was an afterthought of sorts, and concretised after the Indian prime minister wrote an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal.

“I am confident in the destiny of our two nations, because democracy is the greatest source of renewal and, with the right conditions, offers the best opportunity for the human spirit to flourish,” Mr Modi wrote in the WSJ article. “The US is our natural global partner. India and the US embody the enduring and universal relevance of their shared values,” wrote Modi on September 26.

Author Profile

Manish Chand

Manish Chand is Founder-CEO and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO/Director of TGII Media Private Limited, an India-based media, publishing, research and consultancy company.