Obama asked to appoint a high-profile aide for India

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 25 (PTI) Noting that the Indo-US ties
has lost the momentum seen in the early era of the Bush
regime, a Task Force report Thursday suggested President
Barack Obama to include India as a G-8 member, open a new
Consulate in Bangalore and appoint a high-profile aide for New
Delhi.

"President Barack Obama should assign ownership of the
bilateral dialogue to a high-profile aide and this person
should promptly meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
newly-formed government to define a mutual vision for economic
interaction in the years ahead," the report said Thursday.

"The meeting should also prepare the ground for a
productive visit to India by Obama, ideally during his
expected trip to Asia later this year," said the report
'Enhancing India-US Cooperation in the Global Innovation
Economy' which was released at the Capitol Hill by Congressman
Howard Berman, Chairman of House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

A joint collaboration of the Pacific Council, an
American think-tank, and the Federation of Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, the report is co-authored by former US
Ambassador to India Richard Celeste and FICCI Secretary
General Amit Mitra.

Both governments, either through the High Technology
Cooperation Group or a similarly-focused body, should
undertake a comprehensive review of the export controls that
still inhibit bilateral trade in high-technology goods and
services and develop a joint plan for their maximum-possible
reduction, the report said.

As the two new governments in New Delhi and Washington
get ready to deepen and strengthen the bilateral ties, the
report identifies 11 areas, which its authors say would take
the Indo-US relationship to an altogether New level.

Observing that even as significant economic sectors in
both countries are becoming intertwined, the political climate
in the US and India is turning increasingly against such
globalizing forces, it says: "It will thus require sustained
leadership at the highest levels in government and the private
sector in both nations to nurture and enhance the economic
partnership."

Urging the two countries to take steps to fully
implement the nuclear agreement, the report calls India and
the US to sign a free trade agreement focused on innovation
economy, and conclude an investment treaty.

Recommending the two countries to take steps to
enhance science and technology cooperation, and strengthening
energy and environmental cooperation, the report also calls
for the need to launch the second green revolution in India,
exploit synergies in pharmaceutical sector and foster
Hollywood- Bollywood connections.

"In view of India's growing economic capacity and the
important role it will play in addressing global challenges,
it deserves a permanent seat at the G-8 table," it said,
adding in concert with New Delhi, the US should begin
preparing the diplomatic groundwork for India's full
membership.

"New Delhi's absence from the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation process is equally anomalous. Washington should
actively campaign for New Delhi's admission when the current
moratorium on new APEC members expires in late 2010, so that
New Delhi is able to participate in the November 2011 APEC
Summit that will take place in the US," the report said.

The report urges Washington and New Delhi to revive
the US-India Science and Technology Fellowship that operated
for a three-year span in the early 1990s.

Both governments need to improve the bilateral visa
process for scientific researchers and, to help expedite
review of visa applications from India's scientific community.

"Washington should consider opening a consulate in
Bangalore, a key node in the global innovation economy that
is without a formal US diplomatic presence," it added. PTI