Singh-Obama meet to set forth Indo-US relationship framework

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Nov 21 (PTI) The first substantive bilateral
engagement between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US
President Barack Obama on November 24 here is expected to set
forth the framework of how the Indo-US relationship would
develop in the next few years.
Meeting in the backdrop of Obama's visit to China, where
Indo-Pak ties found its way into the Sino-US joint statement
much to the anguish of New Delhi, it would also be an
opportunity for the two leaders to set forth their vision of
relationship and inform the people of the two countries how
they want to take forward this relationship.
After the one-on-one meeting on Tuesday, both Singh and
Obama leaders are expected to come out with a joint statement,
Indian officials said.
This is likely to set the tone of the 'Phase Three' of
the relationship between the two countries, the foundation to
which was laid during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
visit to India in July, where the two countries announced the
start of a strategic dialogue.
Clinton has termed the start of the relationship with
the Obama Presidency as the US-India 3.0 or the third phase.
Besides five pillars of the strategic dialogue, the two
leaders are expected to spend considerable amount of time on
discussing cooperation between the two countries in the field
of counter-terrorism.
Obama is also expected to brief the Prime Minister on
his recent trip to Asia, in particular to China and his
impression about China, the sources said.
In the process of searching the right policy for
Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama is also expected to discuss
the issue with Singh and seek his "valuable inputs".
The Obama Administration considers India as a major
player in Afghanistan and has been highly appreciative of
India's massive developmental works in that country.
While officials from both sides are reluctant to
compare the current State visit with that of 2005 when the
landmark Indo-US civilian nuclear deal was announced, they do
concede that several new initiatives could be announced as a
result of the discussion between the two leaders.
Besides counter-terrorism, other prominent areas
include green technology, education, health, agriculture and
trade and commerce.
The incomplete agenda of the Indo-US nuclear deal too
is likely to be taken up by the two sides – with both of them
reiterating their commitment to the historic agreement and the
need for its implementation at the earliest.
Climate change too is expected to be on the agenda of
the two leaders. PTI LKJ
MYR