US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive for a reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Presidential Palace, in New Delhi yesterday. At the ‘At Home’ reception Obama shook hands with and waved to the large number of invitees, which included many prominent faces like Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and cabinet ministers and their spouses. Obama had high tea sitting beside Modi. Those who shared their table included Michelle, Mukherjee, Ansari, Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.
Reuters/New Delhi
India could play a role in battling Islamic State, the White House said yesterday during a visit to New Delhi by President Barack Obama, underlining Washington’s confidence that India is increasingly prepared to engage on global security issues.
US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said India’s involvement could focus on intelligence on the flow of money and militants to the radical group active in Syria and Iraq rather than deploying troops on the ground.
“When you look at our broader counter-terrorism co-operation and how we’re tracking the flow of fighters and terrorist financing, there I do think we want to find space for co-operation,” he told reporters.
The comments came hours after Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi together watched a dazzling parade of India’s military might and cultural diversity, capturing the two countries’ determination to put decades of brittle relations behind them and forge a robust strategic partnership.
It rained on the Republic Day parade through the heart of New Delhi, but excitement nevertheless ran high over Obama’s visit, which began on Sunday with a clutch of deals to unlock billions of dollars in nuclear trade and deepen defence ties.
Most significant was an agreement on issues that, despite a groundbreaking 2006 pact, had stopped US companies from setting up nuclear reactors in India and had become one of the major irritants in bilateral relations.
“Mobama breaks N-deadlock,” ran the front-page headline of the Mail Today newspaper, which carried a photograph of Modi and Obama hugging each other warmly.
The bonhomie was a remarkable spectacle given that, until a year ago, Modi had been banned from visiting the US after deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002 in Gujarat where he was the chief minister.
Obama was the first US president to attend India’s Republic Day parade, a show of military prowess that was long associated with the anti-Americanism of the Cold War.
Obama’s presence at the parade - at Modi’s personal invitation - marks the latest upturn in a roller-coaster relationship that a year ago was scarred by protectionism and a fiery diplomatic spat.
The US views India as a vast market and potential counterweight in Asia to a more assertive China, but has frequently been frustrated with the slow pace of New Delhi’s economic reforms and unwillingness to side with Washington in international affairs.
Elected last May, Modi has injected a new vitality into the economy and foreign relations and, to Washington’s delight, has begun pushing back against China across Asia.
“The larger goal that the US should be pursuing here is to convince India to join a coalition of democracies to balance China’s rise,” former US ambassador to Beijing Jon Huntsman and the South Asia Centre’s acting director, Bharath Gopalaswamy, wrote in a joint opinion piece.
India, with the world’s third-largest population of Muslims, has not openly engaged so far in international efforts to combat the spread of Islamic State. Indian Muslims have largely shunned radical causes, and police say only four Indians are known to have joined the group.
Analysts say that, under Modi, India appears more willing to engage on issues beyond its borders, including security in the South China Sea and Islamist militancy.
Modi and Obama on Sunday committed to close consultation on global crises, including in Iraq and Syria.
“The leaders agreed to exchange information on individuals returning from these conflict zones and to continue to co-operate in protecting and responding to the needs of civilians caught up in these conflicts,” they said in a joint statement.
They also agreed to a 10-year framework for defence ties and struck deals on co-operation that included joint production of drone aircraft and equipment for Lockheed Martin Corp’s C-130 military transport plane.
Other deals ranged from an Obama-Modi hotline - India’s first at a leadership level - to financing initiatives aimed at helping India use renewable energy to lower carbon intensity.
