Modi and Obama | India Writes

Obama’s India journey: Pomp, symbolism and mapping next steps

January 22, 2015January 23, 2015 - by Manish Chand

Blending pomp and ceremony with substantive outcomes, US President Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit to New Delhi promises to “reinvigorate” the multifarious India-US strategic partnership and reinforce the centrality of Washington as “a key partner” of New Delhi in the ongoing transformation of India and its aspiration to play a bigger role on the global stage.
Ahead of the trip, both India and the US have struck an upbeat note. “We see President Obama’s visit as strengthening our ties across the full breadth of our relations – ties between our governments, our peoples and our institutions,” said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of India’s ministry of external affairs, in New Delhi January 22.
Washington is also betting big on Obama’s visit and has underlined multiple advantages for the US in building a closer and multi-faceted relationship. Headline-hunters may be disappointed though; breakthroughs and big-ticket outcomes may not be immediately visible, but the broad paradigm of the India-US has shifted to a point when there is greater comfort and assurance in the relationship so that the two countries can shed the temptations of hype and quietly and incrementally fructify what they have promised to do, and sustain an enduring and mutually empowering partnership.

US needs to work harder to lift India ties: Kanwal Sibal

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 - by India Writes Network

As India and the US hold their fifth strategic dialogue, Kanwal Sibal, well-known foreign policy analyst and a former foreign secretary of India, strikes a cautionary note. In this interview …

Strategic Dialogue: The 4-5-6 of India-US relations

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014 - by Manish Chand

The “defining partnership of the 21st century” is poised for a new beginning as India and the US hold their first strategic dialogue this week after the installation of a new government in New Delhi. Re-energising the relationship, which is often seen by some to have plateaued after the high of the transformational civil nuclear deal of 2008, and mapping new frontiers of engagement will be the overarching focus of India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry when they hold full-spectrum talks in New Delhi July 31.
The governments come and go, but the people of the two countries will make sure that India and the US will remain robustly engaged democracies, rejuvenating each other’s society and system with ideas, initiative and innovations, fulfilling the “extraordinary promise” of what President Obama has famously called “the defining partnership of the 21st century.”