Namaste Trump and the Underlying Agenda

NAMASTE TRUMP AND THE UNDERLYING AGENDA

            On his first official visit, the US President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump was on a fleeting trip to India lasting for less than 36 hours.  He visited the Sabarmati Ashram where he was received by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a high tea.  

The invitation to Mr.Trump was, by itself, a firm political endorsement coming as it did in an American election year.  

This visit can easily be categorised into two parts.  The first was the symbolic joint rally with our Prime Minister. Their obvious personal rapport and bonhomie was there for all to see. 

The second more difficult one was the actual bilateral outcomes of their Delhi meeting.

The US President’s visit to India this week has catalysed progress on outcomes in trade, defence, security and energy cooperation.  However, it has also set implicit parameters on how far Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi will go to publicly or privately challenge each other’s governments on areas where they are faced with criticism from other quarters. 

On the positive and brighter side, this was the largest rally that the US President had ever addressed.

Prior to arriving at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Trump visited the historic Sabarmati Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi and his wife had lived.  Eschewing the opulent feats usually laid out for visiting presidents, the ashram offered Trump and Melania assorted canned juice, biscuits and the typical Gujarati street food snacks of khaman and samosas.

As per The Times, basking in adulation from a massive, colourful crowd, President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi lavished each other with praise on Monday in a reaffirmation of U.S.-India ties as the subcontinent poured on the pageantry in a joyful welcome for the U.S. president.

Embarking on a whirlwind 36-hour visit, Trump opened his speech by declaring that he had travelled 8,000 miles to deliver the message that “America loves India, America respects India and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people.”

Trump extolled India’s rise as a stable and prosperous democracy as one of the achievements of the century. “You have done it as a tolerant country. And you have done it as a great, free country,” he said.

        Mr. Trump extolled the peaceful rise of India as an economic giant” that has lifted 270 million people out of poverty in a decade. 

        The US President went on to praise the rapid increase in Indians’ access to basic sanitation and cooking fuel and the construction of highways across the country. 

“We will be making very, very major, among the biggest ever made, trade deals. We are in the early stages of discussion for an incredible trade agreement to reduce barriers of investment between the United States and India,” he said.

According to Reuters, the US officials have described Trump’s visit to India as a sure way to counter China’s rise as a superpower. India is one of the few big countries in the world where Trump’s personal approval rating is above 50%. It has built up ties with the United States in recent years as Washington’s relationship has become strained with India’s foe Pakistan.

          “As we continue to build our defence cooperation, the United States looks forward to providing India with some of the best and most feared military equipment on the planet,” Trump said.

The agreement signed for defence purchases worth $3-billion, including American helicopters has led to both sides signalling more cooperation in defence, military exercises and technology sharing.  Thus, the United States has become the premier defence partner of India, which relied on Russian equipment during the Cold War. Reuters reported earlier that India has cleared the purchase of 24 helicopters from Lockheed Martin worth $2.6 billion. Two more MoUs in health care and one Letter of Cooperation on LNG pipeline infrastructure were also struck. 

On security cooperation, there is much to look forward to by way of improved coordination between the two countries’ governments in terms of joint military exercises and interoperability as also in fighting international crimes like drug trafficking, narco terrorism, human trafficking, organised crime and violent extremism.

However, there are inevitable cracks in the armour.  From presidential nomination frontrunner Bernie Sanders, who said in recent days, “Instead of selling $3 billion in weapons to enrich Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed, the US should be partnering with India to fight climate change”, to Pramila Jayapal, Indian American Congresswoman who was denied a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister for criticising India’s violation of minorities’ right to religious freedom, there is a gradual mushrooming disenchantment with several major policy plans of the Modi government including its Kashmir policy and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.

Putting the most elusive trade deal question in perspective, it is felt that more economic openness would be to the benefit of not only India’s trading partners but India itself. 

Addressing journalists at the Hyderabad House, Mr. Trump stated that the US and India were working to revitalise the quadrilateral initiative consisting of Japan, the US, India and Australia.  Both countries were also working on cyber security and counter terrorism issues.

          The two leaders shared strong language in references aimed at China’s hegemony in the South China Sea as also the Belt and Road Initiative. 

The two sides did not manage to hammer out a trade deal ahead of the visit, with differences remaining over agriculture, medical devices, digital trade and proposed new tariffs. Trump said he was going to discuss economic ties with Modi, describing him as a tough negotiator.

US and India must now put heads together and strive to complete the unfinished agreements and charter the path for their newly designated “Comprehensive Strategic Global Partnership”.

More importantly and immediately, with the political backing of both leaders, negotiators must move toward the much anticipated yet elusive trade deal.

Having put in place a favourable climate and a proactive leadership agenda, it is for us to wait and watch whether a profitable and economically viable atmosphere pans out in the months and years to come or not.

Cushioned by the obvious  goodwill and positive sync between Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi, let us fervently hope that only good news and good tidings for India are around the corner.