India and the US - Next Steps in Partnership!

Sign LEMOA and talk Tough on Terror.

- Gulshan Luthra 

NEW DELHI. IIt was in 2004 that India and the United States had announced The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) with an eye on future cooperation, and a year later, in 2005, Washington formally announced that it recognized India as a regional and global power.

Changes in political leadership in both the countries notwithstanding, the two have moved forward since then. Indian Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh, and now Mr Narendra Modi, have responded well, albeit progressively, to the US efforts initiated by Presidents Geroge W Bush and Barack Obama.

Mr Modi and Mr Obama have met several times over the past year, including in Vientiane most recently. After his official visit to Washington DC in June 2016, the Indian Prime Minister described the US as “an indispensable partner” and outlined his thoughts for “a new symphony” in bilateral relations. Defence Ministers and Foreign Ministers of the two countries have also met periodically since then. The US declared India a “Major defence Partner” during Mr Modi’s visit.

Although there is no NSSP 2016, both India and the US talk tough on terror, have raised strategic ties, and Washington has reaffirmed support for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, after anchoring India’s entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

Significantly, while the Indian Defence Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar was in Washington end-August, the US Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry, was in New Delhi at the same time.

The two met their counterparts, Mr Ashton Carter and Mrs Sushma Swaraj respectively.