The Hindu : International / India & World : Relationship has improved, says task force

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 30, 2005

International

International - India & World

Relationship has improved, says task force

Sridhar Krishnaswami

"This welcome evolution has profound implications for future" "The strategic community as well as Indian professionals have contributed to the re-evaluation of India and U.S.-India relations."

WASHINGTON: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday emphasised cooperation in economy, trade, science and technology, health care and education in India-U.S. relations.

He was speaking at the release of the Joint Task Force Report, "India-US Relations: A Vision For The Future," jointly put out by the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Observer Research Foundation at the Brookings Institution here.

"Today when the relationship changes, as the report has described, `from uneasy cooperation to incipient partnership', it would be fair to recognise the role played by those in the strategic community as well as the range of Indian professionals who have contributed to this re-evaluation of India and U.S.-India relations."

The report "effectively captures the excitement and potential that the transformation of U.S.-India relations is generating at present."

The recommendations were timely. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was visiting the U.S. in July, a prelude U.S. President George W. Bush's India trip, Mr. Mukherjee said.

"After decades of regarding each other with wary suspicion, India and the United States have moved rapidly from uneasy cooperation to incipient partnership. This welcome evolution has profound implications for the future," says the report in its executive summary. One source of the shift in bilateral relations is geo-politics. The report does not focus exclusively on strategic or political issues and goes into diverse aspects of the evolving relationship.

It says India and the U.S. will continue to have differing strategic views, say on Washington-Islamabad ties.

The Task Force has recommended removal of barriers to strategic cooperation, particularly in technology development.

"Confidence in Indian export control systems has grown as India has shown a willingness to address U.S. concerns regarding the proliferation of sensitive technology. But there remain gaps in enforcement that could be addressed by more "catch-all controls," says the report.

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