By Ankit Panda
Barring any missteps, the U.S. and India should carry positive momentum in their bilateral relations from 2014 into 2015.
As we head into 2015, U.S.-India relations seem to be on a growth trajectory. After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s largely successful inaugural trip to the United States in September 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations in late January 2015 as the chief guest. Additionally, the United States Senate is in the process of confirming the Obama administration’s nominee for ambassador to India, Richard Rahul Verma. Verma, who is of Indian origin, held the office of the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, has a deep knowledge of India, played a pivotal role in the conclusion of the U.S.-India deal on civil nuclear cooperation in 2005, and has bipartisan support — that last crucial characteristic has left many-an-ambassador nominee sitting in political limbo.
Verma’s confirmation hearing took place on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Verma seemed to agree with the notion that U.S.-India ties were climbing uphill at a quick pace: ”There is no question that this is a defining and exciting time in the US-India relationship. President Obama will make a historic visit to India in January, becoming the first US head of state to attend India’s Republic Day and the only sitting US president to visit India twice,” Verma told the committee. Indeed, Modi’s decision to invite Obama to India was somewhat surprising given India’s foreign policy legacy of non-alignment. Many Indian politicians, even within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, express skepticism openly toward the United States. As Harsh V. Pant wrote in these pages, Modi’s decision demonstrates his “sheer audacity.”
During his confirmation hearing, Verma addressed the wide gamut of commonalities between the United States and India: ”From expanding trade and defence relationships, to ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation, from countering terrorist networks to promoting clean energy and sustainable development the US and India share a wide-range of critical national interests. Our partnership is deep, it touches nearly every endeavour of human pursuit, and it has produced important gains for each of our countries,” he said. ”As Prime Minister Modi noted, the true power and potential in this relationship is that when the oldest and largest democracies come together, the world will benefit,” he added.
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