n Secretary of state John Kerry may arrive with confirmation next month
Even as India prepares to host new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on his first foreign visit, quiet efforts are under way to firm up a visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the United States before the UPA government ends its term.
It is learnt that India and the US have been in touch over the past couple of months after New Delhi evinced interest in holding a prime ministerial visit. While White House has not given any firm response so far, sources said, secretary of state John Kerry may arrive with a confirmation next month. He is expected to be here in the third week of June for the Indo-US strategic dialogue.
US deputy secretary of State William Burns, who was here last week ahead of Kerry’s visit, is said to have discussed the possibility of a PM visit with his Indian counterparts and signalled that Washington too has taken this up as a priority. Both sides, sources said, are keen to address the perceived loss of momentum in the relationship.
The US has been upset with the slow progress on some of the key initiatives like the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement, which has not translated into concrete business due to hurdles posed by the liabilities law. While both sides are working hard to ensure that Westinghouse’s techno-commercial agreement for building a reactor in Gujarat can be announced during Kerry’s visit, the overall pace has been slow compared to what Russia and France have achieved.
On the economic side too, Washington has been pressing for relaxation in FDI restrictions across financial sectors without many pre-conditions, a factor that is inhibiting investors in the retail sector.
While India has been giving assurances, the inability of the government to take it further has become a cause of frustration in the Indo-US relationship
At this point, however, the changing strategic environment in the region and the fallout of an assertive China are key concerns for India that is looking to strengthen its security capabilities. In this context, New Delhi and Washington are in conversation to establish a defence technology initiative which will result in co-production of US-origin military hardware in India.
With India keen to signal that it continues to value the US as a key strategic partner, it was felt that a high-level visit could provide some impetus to the relationship. The impression that Singh was a much-weakened PM in the last year of his term did have its effect on Washington, which has been pushing India to step up the pace on implementing earlier decisions and initiatives.
On a broader plane, India is looking to re-energise its relationship with the US as it looks to cope with a difficult security scenario after Nato troops pull out from Afghanistan and a new regime in China aims to close ranks with Pakistan.
New Delhi has concerns over the US state department reaching out to the Pakistan army chief instead of the civilian government in the tripartite peace talks with Afghanistan.
It’s important, sources said, for India to ensure proper strategic communication with the US during this transition, and for that, fresh momentum in other aspects of bilateral relationship could hold the key.