For India's P.M., A White House Pampering And Feast

Nov. 24, 2009 | Kevin Whitelaw | National Public Radio

The decision to host the Indian prime minister as President Obama's first state visitor, complete with a formal state dinner on Tuesday night, was designed as a deliberate signal of India's prominence in Washington. But Indian leaders remain worried that Obama won't treat India as a true global power in the same way his predecessor did.

President Obama welcomed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the White House on Tuesday as the American president hosts his first state visit.

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The relationship between the two countries is perhaps the warmest and most productive it has ever been. But Indian leaders remain worried that Obama will be distracted by issues like Pakistan that could prevent him from treating India as a true global power in the same way as his predecessor.

The Bush administration viewed India, the world's largest democracy, as a key strategic partner in Asia and as one of the world's most dynamic economies. Under Bush, Washington and New Delhi overcame decades of tension and mutual suspicion, signing a landmark deal in 2005 on civil nuclear cooperation.

"I don't think President Obama has convinced the Indians yet that he would be willing to go the extra mile for India that President Bush did," says Lisa Curtis, a former U.S. diplomat now at the Heritage Foundation. "They've seen the Obama administration very focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan, and there is uncertainty about how India fits in with President Obama's thinking."

The selection to host the Indian prime minister as Obama's first state visitor, complete with a formal state dinner on Tuesday night, was designed as a deliberate signal of India's prominence in Washington.

"We seek to broaden and deepen our strategic partnership and to work with the United States to meet the challenges of a fast-changing world in this 21st century," Singh said at a welcoming ceremony at the White House. "This is a moment of great opportunity in our relationship."

But the Obama administration has some cleaning up to do after a few perceived missteps during the president's swing through Asia earlier this month.

Indian officials were worried after Obama delivered a major policy address in Tokyo on the "rising powers" of Asia without a single mention of India.

Separately, the formal statement issued by China and the United States during Obama's Beijing visit said the two countries would play a joint role in managing issues in South Asia. With no mention of India, the statement fueled additional doubts in New Delhi.

"What Bush did was, he treated India as one of the big two or three centers of power in Asia," says Ashley Tellis, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "What India wants is that Obama will continue treating them as a center of power in Asia."

Still, the Obama administration has been cooperating actively with India in a number of areas, including energy, health, education and agriculture.

"That's going to be part of the story — that the U.S.-India relationship is no longer a single-issue relationship," says Tellis, a former State Department official. "It's moved beyond the old obsessions with the nuclear issue."

The two leaders are expected to announce several new initiatives in these areas during the visit. Singh told a Washington audience on Monday that he and Obama will sign a memorandum aimed at boosting cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change.

"This will provide a framework for pursuing bilateral cooperation in specific areas," Singh said.

But when it comes to climate change, no breakthroughs are expected because India remains opposed to accepting binding restrictions on its emissions.

Obama and Singh will also be talking about nonproliferation issues and the war in Afghanistan, as well as counterterrorism. India is hoping that the United States will be able to put additional pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the group believed to be responsible for the Mumbai attack last year.

But Pakistan will be watching the meeting anxiously for its own reasons.

"Pakistan is paranoid about the U.S. relationship with India," says Curtis. "They recognize that India is moving forward economically and is having much greater influence on a global scale, and, unfortunately, Pakistan seems to be moving in the opposite direction."

The U.S. has historically had close relations with Pakistan, but tensions over Islamabad's seriousness in tackling terrorism have strained the relationship in recent years.

While India's economy is a vibrant success story, Pakistan remains deeply dependent on foreign aid.

"When you think of Pakistan, it's how can we avoid the worst," says Tellis. "When you think of India, the first thing you think about is opportunity. The trajectories are so different." Copyright 2009 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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