Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five-nation visit was a success. In Afghanistan, he inaugurated the Salma Dam which will irrigate hundreds of villages besides generating power. Financed and built by India, the dam underlines India’s commitment to stay invested in the peaceful development of Afghanistan despite Pakistan’s antipathy and its evil designs on the troubled nation.
In Qatar, he did the balancing act, renewing ties with the Sunni nation after his recent foray into the Shia Iran. Besides, Qatar is a major player in the energy market, supplying liquefied natural gas to India. The brief stopover in Switzerland was aimed at securing that country’s support for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. It was secured.
Also, Modi pushed the Swiss for active cooperation in unearthing black money lying hidden in secret Swiss accounts. The next was the key stop in the five-nation journey. It certainly being the last meeting between Modi and President Obama, both were naturally keen to exploit the good vibes developed during the previous six meetings for mutual advantage. Obama was naturally concerned about firming up one of his key legacies, the Paris Accord. India would accord assent provided some of its demands were met. Financial and technological commitments to compensate India for undertaking climate control measures would have to be fulfilled before India formally signs the accord for Obama to see implemented before demitting office next January.
A stepped- up drive to switch to clean energy is part of the on-going programme of the Modi Government which easily dovetails into the global environment accord. Financial and technological assistance will provide further spurt to the solar and wind energy campaigns. Another big issue on the agenda was the operationalization of the civil nuclear agreement. There was some movement on the proposed sale of six Westinghouse reactors but no specifics were announced.
The Americans were keen for India to firm up the purchase of the reactors. A US team would visit the short-listed site in Gujarat for preliminary assessment for setting up the first such reactor. The Modi Government had already got the question of suppliers’ liability in case of a mishap sorted out. India also got membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which brings it a step closer to the membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. Italy was holding out on the membership of the MTCR due to the quarrel over the Italian marines but it relented a few days ago.
Even on the NSG membership, the only hold-out was China, with Modi having got the support of Switzerland and Mexico. Modi visited Mexico on the last leg of his five-nation odyssey. For sure, the US was the major stop in his itinerary. And Modi did not fail to make a splash, giving a virtuoso performance in his address to the US Congress, earning repeated applause from the august gathering and pressing all the right buttons. He even drove home the point about Pakistan being the epicenter of global terror without naming that country.
Shared vision between the leaderships of the two democratic countries, deepening of bilateral defence and security cooperation, partnership in securing peace in the South China Sea, without referring to the expansionist designs of China, building on cultural and social relationship thanks to the presence of over two million people of Indian origin in the US, etc., were some of the several themes which Modi touched during his 50-minute address.
The PM’s visit to the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier was a thoughtful gesture, unlikely to go unnoticed in the political chambers in the Capitol Hill, as India seeks higher defence cooperation and opens the sector to foreign financial and technological investment in partnership with Indian parties. Transformation of Modi, who only two years ago was unwelcome in the US, and the sea-change in the attitude of the Americans towards him, revealed that maturity and good sense can overcome personal prejudices. It was in their mutual interest that they do business together.
The US remains one of the biggest investors in India while growing warmth in the ties thanks to prime ministerial visits can only further boost the fund flows, especially when Modi is engaged in clearing the bottlenecks and raising India’s position in the ease-of-doing-business global index. The success of any visit eventually depends on the follow-up work. But, for sure, Modi, the newly anointed global statesman, has done the spadework for a healthy and mutually advantageous Indo-US partnership in diverse fields of human endeavour. Let the domestic critics of Modi nit-pick, but for everyone else his foray into foreign affairs is turning out to be a major plus for India.
