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Building on the positives

There was never any doubt that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s two-day visit to India would be successful. Although commonalities are manifold, the two countries are not completely in sync in their approach to international issues, and the differences have been striking over Iraq and Iran, to name the most prominent areas. It should be remembered that the United Kingdom and India, in their bilateral interaction, have for long practised the art of working around disagreements while building on the positives. That being the case, New Delhi would have been less than satisfied had Mr. Brown only offered muted support on some of the key issues that figure in its diplomatic agenda. The British Prime Minister was unequivocal in backing India’s assertion of the right to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. He also indicated that London would be supportive in the deliberations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group if the Manmohan Singh government’s effort to work out the agreement with the United States went that far. Given this stance, it was only to be expected that the U.K. too would be interested in civilian nuclear cooperation with India if the NSG loosened restrictions. While Mr. Brown’s pronouncements are reassuring, the temptation to be carried away by them should be resisted. After all, the British government has something to gain and little to lose by supporting India on these issues. Its inputs will be important but not crucial when questions pertaining to the Security Council seat and the NSG regulations come to be settled. India’s efforts in these areas are unlikely to make much headway if the U.S. decides to oppose.

The scope for bilateral cooperation in areas such as education, investment, and technology appears very promising. In higher education, a few other countries have caught up with or overtaken the U.K. as the preferred destination for Indian students. Given this context, it is not surprising that several British institutions, including Oxford University and Imperial College, are trying to work out new arrangements with their counterparts in this country. What is most commendable is the British Council’s plan to work with Indian partners to develop teacher training facilities. The target is to train 750,000 teachers across India in the next five years. New Delhi would have certainly welcomed Mr. Brown’s call for a revamp of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It might also show interest in his proposal that the IMF should monitor global economic and financial systems so as to help avert crises and not just resolve them.

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