Our partnership should rise above the predicable and the aim for the original, the transformational.
Any reader of the Indian mainstream press, having gone through umpteen analyses of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strikingly successful five-day state visit to the United States last month, might well exclaim “Not another one! What more is there left to say?” This article is an attempt to respond to that question from a different yet valid perspective.
Things were not always so between us. Forget the early days of disappointment and even bitterness in India as the US armed Pakistan and sanctioned us. Even as late as 1992, Ambassador Dennis Kux, a seasoned observer of US relations with the subcontinent, wrote a regretful book called “Estranged Democracies”, a title that said it all.
Yet, the India-US Joint Statement of 22 June 2023 declared theirs to be “a vision of the United States and India as among the closest partners in the world—a partnership of democracies looking into the 21st century with hope, ambition, and confidence”. The change looks almost surreal, but it could not be more real.
PM’s visit, of which his eloquent address, his second, to a joint session of the US Congress was a highlight, showcased the sheer scope, breadth and depth of the relationship as now envisaged. The appreciation for this in both countries, and beyond, is due to the conviction that this expanding partnership is a force for good that will help all humanity.
In the time scale of history, seven years is but the blink of an eye. Yet this is all that it has taken for our two countries to abandon the “hesitant beginnings” that PM had mentioned when he last addressed the US Congress in 2016, and proclaim the US-India relationship to now be “indivisible”, and “primed for a momentous future”. This “indivisibility” arises from our shared democratic values, our commitment to core freedoms and liberties, our common goal of peace and prosperity for all.
The unprecedentedly wide range of cooperation set out in the 58-para Joint Statement has enough content to inspire a new book by Ambassador Kux, entitled “United Democracies”. The concluding para—summing up both its substance and its spirit—affirms that it “represents the most expansive and comprehensive vision for progress in the history of our bilateral relationship. Still, our ambitions are to reach ever greater heights, and we commit both our governments and our peoples to this endeavor, now and into the future.”
A joint roadmap for promoting global security and economic prosperity through a stronger strategic partnership, mutually beneficial trade, investments in infrastructure, and deeper cultural relations, was unveiled, including a full range of concrete initiatives.
NEW STEPS IN DEFENCE AND SECURITY COOPERATION
The most prominent is the blossoming defence partnership. With the Framework Agreement of 2015, the Foundational Agreements on logistics, communications and information-sharing, the adoption of the Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, and ongoing discussions on Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreements, the structure is well in place and the prospects are bright.
The MoU between General Electric and HAL for the manufacture of GE F-414 jet engines in India, as well as plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs to enhance the ISR capabilities of India’s armed forces, are early indications of this. The most prominent aspect of the now wide US-India strategic convergence was the commitment to empowering the Quad “as a partnership for global good”, followed by shared concern over the conflict in Ukraine, support for a stable Afghanistan, and condemnation of the missile launches by North Korea.
Most emphatic, however, was the no punches pulled, unequivocal call for the delegitimization of global terrorism, and for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups like the LeT, the JeM, Al Qaeda et al. Naming and shaming its principal wellspring in our neighbourhood, they “condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks. They called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to be brought to justice.”
TOWARDS A FUTURE OF CLEAN ENERGY AND EXPANDED TRADE
The US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership and Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) visualise pathways to collaboration in green hydrogen and biofuels, with India co-leading the multilateral Hydrogen Breakthrough Agenda, and partnering the US and Brazil in a Global Biofuels Alliance.
Lowering the cost of capital and bringing in private finance will accelerate the deployment of greenfield renewable energy, battery storage, and emerging green technology in India. The path-breaking Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) is a major milestone on this road.
An MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership was followed by Micron’s planned semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, Lam Research’s scheme to train 60,000 Indian engineers through its virtual fabrication platform, and a collaborative engineering research centre in India. Regarding critical minerals, India’s entry into the Mineral Security Partnership was noteworthy.
The new Strategic Trade Dialogue will help address export controls and facilitate technology transfer. Renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will promote the “diversification, decentralisation and democratisation of our supply chains”, as the Prime Minister highlighted.
Deepening bilateral cooperation in cutting-edge scientific infrastructure is envisaged, with India signing the Artemis Accords, a major step forward in cooperation in space, and ambitious programmes for cooperation in AI, quantum computing, and healthcare.
Google’s $10 billion India Digitization Fund and Amazon’s $6.5 billion new investment in India embody our growing techno-commercial links. The US-India Global Digital Development Partnership, broached last week, will enable public-private partnerships to harness Digital Public Infrastructure in the creation of open and inclusive digital economies.
The India-US Commercial Dialogue, with the proposed “Innovation Handshake” mechanism, will give a fillip to start-ups while addressing regulatory hurdles and promoting job growth.
THE ROAD AHEAD
This “defining relationship of the 21st century”, as President Biden terms it, will promote peace—by building security measures in the Indo-Pacific through coordinated capacity enhancement and defence cooperation—and sustainable development through accelerated transition to renewable energy, with expanded investments in clean energy infrastructure. The India-US energy partnership has grown 13 times in the last five years, with multiplier benefits across the economy.
For expanding cooperation in the knowledge economy, the more than 4.5 million Indian diaspora will play a key role, having contributed an ever expanding list of CEOs of US mega business corporations, besides significant contributions to American society in a variety of fields, including business, science and the arts.
A BROAD-BASED RELATIONSHIP
A cautionary note. While discussing India-US relations, the kneejerk tendency to treat them as driven by a single concern must be avoided. This is a false premise, that ignores the tremendous spread and depth of India-US ties, which have developed steadily in this century, and picked up speed in the last decade, quite independently of anything that happened elsewhere.
DEMOCRACY: THE STRAND THAT UNITES
Lastly, the US and India must craft a new discourse on democracy, re-energising the movement for a just, equitable, and universally beneficial global order, including broader representation for the Global South on international platforms. Here, India’s vigour, experience, and wisdom can bring new perspectives to global councils that might have lost their way.
This continuous emphasis on democracy may seem repetitive and formulaic, but it is necessary . Only a multilateral order underpinned by it can undo the subversion of the international system and combat forces that seek to corrupt it. The partnership between the world’s largest democracy and the world’s oldest democracy is the bulwark of that hope.
INDIA’S UNIQUE DEMOCRATIC ETHOS
The beauty of democracy is that it is simultaneously the reconciler of internal contradictions and the instrument of comprehensive socioeconomic development. India has shown an enduring capacity to embrace its unity in diversity, and can rightly be hailed, as Prime Minister Modi averred in his address, as the “Mother of Democracy”.
The ethos of tolerance, the spirit of acceptance of others’ beliefs, that have shaped Indian thought over millennia guide India’s actions today. This universal vision is encapsulated in the motto of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, affirming the interconnectedness of all life. The Indian way of life is rooted in living in harmony with our ecosystem. India thus supports and promotes holistic and responsible development worldwide, and seeks reciprocity as it works towards these goals.
The US appreciates India’s millennial heritage and contemporary values, and acknowledges its power to help bring back stability to a fractious global order. Our partnership should rise above the predicable and the ordinary, aim for the original, the transformational. It should look beyond just our national well-being to strive for a better world for all, less strife ridden, more humane, bringing us to greater, more lasting benefits. Then alone will the full promise of our relationship be realised.
Shyamala B. Cowshik is a retired Indian ambassador.