“[T]his is exactly the right time to assess where we are in the U.S.-India relationship,” declared Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma in remarks to the Hudson Institute. “We are now entering about a quarter century of progress. Progress that was unimaginable only a few decades ago.”
This progress was driven by a change of policies in both countries in key sectors including energy, security, and trade.
Indeed, it was President Bill Clinton who delinked U.S.-India and U.S.–Pakistan policy. This made possible the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal - a landmark initiative to deliver safe and reliable nuclear energy to India. And ultimately, civil-nuclear cooperation led to new advances in defense cooperation, explained, explained Deputy Secretary Verma:
“Our two militaries understand each other. It wasn’t that long ago where we weren’t really allowed to talk about interoperability or convergence. We now practice and train together. We are now jointly developing and producing some of the world’s most sophisticated systems – all in the name of promoting greater peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
This leads to another milestone achieved - joint efforts in combatting climate change. There is still work to do, said Deputy Secretary Verma, “but when two of the three largest emitters work together constructively on the world stage, it sends a powerful signal about the importance and the urgency of the issue to other countries and to private industry to meet this challenge head on.”
The economic impact between the United States’ and India’s private sectors has been equally impressive, said Deputy Secretary Verma:
“Our two-way trade numbers have increased tenfold from the year 2000 to today. Trade between the United States and India accounts for some 425,000 American jobs, according to the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Just look at the past few months, with new commitments from Micron to build an $825 million plant in Gujarat to produce semiconductors. Look at the Development Finance Corporation’s $500 million commitment to support First Solar’s efforts in India to build solar panels.”
“I think it is safe to say we have entered an era of convergence in U.S.-India ties,” declared Deputy Secretary Verma. “Convergence on how we work together; convergence on how our countries assess shared global threats and opportunities; and convergence on how our people live and work together.”
