South Asian Foreign Relations
'India Is Poised To Emerge As A Significant Global Actor' - Mera Shankar
S. Mitra Kalita, WSJ deputy global economics editor, sat down with India's ambassador to the U.S., Meera Shankar, to talk about the relationship between the U.S. and India and their respective new administrations. Here are some edited excerpts:
WSJ: What is the status of the nuclear deal? There's been some concern that commercial contracts have stalled.
Ambassador Meera Shankar
.We are committed to taking this deal forward. We are engaged in some of the residual arrangements which have to be worked out. For instance on reprocessing (of the spent fuel), the nuclear deal provided that the U.S. agreed to this in principle but the arrangements would be mutually agreed upon after a request made by India. The request has been made by India and we hope to commence negotiations in July. Both sides have designated nodal points. We are about to commence negotiations and hope to then see progress on a concrete project.
WSJ: Does President Obama seem as committed to the deal as President Bush was?
He's very committed to the relationship. Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton in her address to the India-U.S. Business Council pointed out that among those voting for the deal were Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Joe Biden and Sen. Hillary Clinton.
WSJ: What's your assessment of Barack Obama's relationship with India?
This administration would like to build on the gains which have been made. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks said it's a relationship which has moved forward under two administrations -- initially under the Clinton administration when he was president and then carried forward by the Bush administration. She hopes to take the relationship to the third level.
WSJ: What is India's agenda for Secretary of State Clinton's upcoming trip to India?
This is going to be a key visit after our elections. We want to extend cooperation to sectors such as education, health, science and technology, while consolidating the gains which have been made in areas such as the nuclear energy deal.
WSJ: There has been concern that some measures by the U.S. would be seen as protectionist, even a reversal of policy toward India. Your thoughts?
In a situation of global economic downturn, it is all the more necessary that the pathways for trade and investment remain open. From India's point of view, we'd like to see that we have a framework in place that facilitates the growth and doesn't act as a constraint. The relationship has been growing steadily. Trade has doubled in four years, and investment flows now are in both directions. Two studies released recently, by the India Brand Equity Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry, point out that over the last few years, the India-U.S. relationship had created more than $100 billion in value to the U.S. economy and created 300,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly. This includes goods which India has purchased from the U.S. and it includes investment which has flowed from India to the U.S. and includes the enhancement of the competitiveness of U.S. companies by virtue of using synergies with Indian companies.
Another study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry more narrowly focused on investment shows that in the last two years, foreign direct investment by Indian companies in the U.S. market is more than U.S. foreign direct investment in India. This has generated 30,000 jobs in the U.S. directly and many more indirectly. We are looking here at the benefits of outsourcing.
WSJ: Is India on the path to being a superpower?
India is not a superpower. I don't think we have aspirations to be a superpower. By virtue of our scale and the growth of our economy and the stability of institutions in India, India is poised to emerge as a significant actor in global affairs. But let us also remember that large portions of the Indian population will continue to be relatively poor. The overall scale of the economy will be huge, but per capita incomes will still be relatively low. This is a dimension which Indian politics has to take into account and be sensitive to.
WSJ: Could that result in India not entering discussions of geopolitical importance? Why did Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not speak up about the protests over Iran elections, for example?
India has really adopted a policy which seeks to avoid interfering directly in internal developments in other countries. We subscribe to democratic values and to a very vigorous democratic framework. The best way to promote this is through positive programs for democratic institution-building. We have contributed to the U.N. Democracy Fund, for example, and we have helped countries on constitutional issues and training in electoral practices.
WSJ: What are the key areas of reforms coming up?
The emphasis will be on the government managing the impact of the global economic crisis, which has led to a moderation of growth in India. We still have growth and are relatively better off. We want to ensure through a series of measures that domestic demand expands and that we can manage the impact of the crisis without a sharp deceleration in growth.
The next objective would be to get back to a high growth path of 8%-10%.
Then in terms of the government's articulated program, it would be important to ensure that growth is inclusive and target the ability of the government to delivery.
After the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the government has announced a slew of measures to enhance the internal administrations' ability to deal with security.
Development of infrastructure, which has been seen as a key constraint to India achieving its economic objectives of a high-growth path, will be a priority. We should expect more investment in the range of infrastructure sectors.
WSJ: How has globalization changed the nature of diplomacy? Most Americans have heard of India by now and have access to information, arts, culture, business. How does this change your job?
Diplomacy has become more broad based. It is no longer limited to issues of strictly speaking national security or geopolitical aspects. It embraces trade and business relations. It embraces educational contacts, cultural contacts, cooperation between scientific communities,
The whole definition of diplomacy has broadened. The connections are at multiple levels as well as the government to government interaction, which leads but is also changed or influenced by these other connections.
'India Is Poised To Emerge As A Significant Global Actor' - Mera Shankar
S. Mitra Kalita, WSJ deputy global economics editor, sat down with India's ambassador to the U.S., Meera Shankar, to talk about the relationship between the U.S. and India and their respective new administrations. Here are some edited excerpts:
WSJ: What is the status of the nuclear deal? There's been some concern that commercial contracts have stalled.
Ambassador Meera Shankar
.We are committed to taking this deal forward. We are engaged in some of the residual arrangements which have to be worked out. For instance on reprocessing (of the spent fuel), the nuclear deal provided that the U.S. agreed to this in principle but the arrangements would be mutually agreed upon after a request made by India. The request has been made by India and we hope to commence negotiations in July. Both sides have designated nodal points. We are about to commence negotiations and hope to then see progress on a concrete project.
WSJ: Does President Obama seem as committed to the deal as President Bush was?
He's very committed to the relationship. Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton in her address to the India-U.S. Business Council pointed out that among those voting for the deal were Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Joe Biden and Sen. Hillary Clinton.
WSJ: What's your assessment of Barack Obama's relationship with India?
This administration would like to build on the gains which have been made. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks said it's a relationship which has moved forward under two administrations -- initially under the Clinton administration when he was president and then carried forward by the Bush administration. She hopes to take the relationship to the third level.
WSJ: What is India's agenda for Secretary of State Clinton's upcoming trip to India?
This is going to be a key visit after our elections. We want to extend cooperation to sectors such as education, health, science and technology, while consolidating the gains which have been made in areas such as the nuclear energy deal.
WSJ: There has been concern that some measures by the U.S. would be seen as protectionist, even a reversal of policy toward India. Your thoughts?
In a situation of global economic downturn, it is all the more necessary that the pathways for trade and investment remain open. From India's point of view, we'd like to see that we have a framework in place that facilitates the growth and doesn't act as a constraint. The relationship has been growing steadily. Trade has doubled in four years, and investment flows now are in both directions. Two studies released recently, by the India Brand Equity Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry, point out that over the last few years, the India-U.S. relationship had created more than $100 billion in value to the U.S. economy and created 300,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly. This includes goods which India has purchased from the U.S. and it includes investment which has flowed from India to the U.S. and includes the enhancement of the competitiveness of U.S. companies by virtue of using synergies with Indian companies.
Another study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry more narrowly focused on investment shows that in the last two years, foreign direct investment by Indian companies in the U.S. market is more than U.S. foreign direct investment in India. This has generated 30,000 jobs in the U.S. directly and many more indirectly. We are looking here at the benefits of outsourcing.
WSJ: Is India on the path to being a superpower?
India is not a superpower. I don't think we have aspirations to be a superpower. By virtue of our scale and the growth of our economy and the stability of institutions in India, India is poised to emerge as a significant actor in global affairs. But let us also remember that large portions of the Indian population will continue to be relatively poor. The overall scale of the economy will be huge, but per capita incomes will still be relatively low. This is a dimension which Indian politics has to take into account and be sensitive to.
WSJ: Could that result in India not entering discussions of geopolitical importance? Why did Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not speak up about the protests over Iran elections, for example?
India has really adopted a policy which seeks to avoid interfering directly in internal developments in other countries. We subscribe to democratic values and to a very vigorous democratic framework. The best way to promote this is through positive programs for democratic institution-building. We have contributed to the U.N. Democracy Fund, for example, and we have helped countries on constitutional issues and training in electoral practices.
WSJ: What are the key areas of reforms coming up?
The emphasis will be on the government managing the impact of the global economic crisis, which has led to a moderation of growth in India. We still have growth and are relatively better off. We want to ensure through a series of measures that domestic demand expands and that we can manage the impact of the crisis without a sharp deceleration in growth.
The next objective would be to get back to a high growth path of 8%-10%.
Then in terms of the government's articulated program, it would be important to ensure that growth is inclusive and target the ability of the government to delivery.
After the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the government has announced a slew of measures to enhance the internal administrations' ability to deal with security.
Development of infrastructure, which has been seen as a key constraint to India achieving its economic objectives of a high-growth path, will be a priority. We should expect more investment in the range of infrastructure sectors.
WSJ: How has globalization changed the nature of diplomacy? Most Americans have heard of India by now and have access to information, arts, culture, business. How does this change your job?
Diplomacy has become more broad based. It is no longer limited to issues of strictly speaking national security or geopolitical aspects. It embraces trade and business relations. It embraces educational contacts, cultural contacts, cooperation between scientific communities,
The whole definition of diplomacy has broadened. The connections are at multiple levels as well as the government to government interaction, which leads but is also changed or influenced by these other connections.