Signalling his determination to take ties to a higher level, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke with protocol to meet and bear-hug US President Barack Obama as he landed in New Delhi yesterday.
It was a remarkable spectacle given that, just a year ago, Modi was persona non grata in Washington and denied a visa to the United States.
The apparent warmth between the two leaders is striking because Modi’s politics is considerably to the right of Obama’s.
Moreover, Modi was banned from visiting the United States for nearly a decade after deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in the state he governed, Reuters reported.
The two leaders are expected to finalise possible agreements on climate change, renewable energy, taxation and defence cooperation.
“Earlier we were close, now we are together,” Modi said after the two leaders had walked and talked together in an elegant garden and sat outside over tea.
Modi, who sold tea on a railway platform as a child, poured a cup for Obama.
Obama will be the first US president to attend India’s Republic Day parade, an annual show of military might long associated with the anti-Americanism of the Cold War. He is the first US president to visit India twice during his tenure in office.
“It’s a great honour. We are grateful for this extraordinary hospitality,” Obama said during a welcome at the presidential palace, where there was a guard of honour, a 21-gun salute and a stray dog running around the forecourt until it was chased away.
Modi greeted Obama and his wife, Michelle, on the tarmac of the airport as they came down the steps from Air Force One on the smoggy winter morning. The two leaders hugged each other warmly.
According to protocol, the prime minister does not greet foreign leaders on their arrival, but Modi made the decision himself to break with tradition, surprising even his own handlers.
Up to 40,000 security personnel have been deployed in New Delhi for the visit and 15,000 new closed-circuit surveillance cameras have been installed in the capital, according to media reports.
Obama will depart slightly early from India to travel to Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah.
Asian strategy
Indian media reported yesterday that negotiators had broken an impasse that has long stood in the way of civil nuclear trade and was one of the major irritants in bilateral ties, according to Reuters.
They ironed out differences over the liability of suppliers to India in the event of a nuclear accident and the United States dropped a demand to be able to track the whereabouts of material supplied to the country, Indian TV news networks said.
The White House declined to comment on the reports and the spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs said only: “we hope for a positive outcome at the end of the day.”
The United States views India as a vast market and potential counterweight to China’s assertiveness in Asia, but frequently grows frustrated with the slow pace of economic reforms and unwillingness to side with Washington in international affairs.
India would like to see a new US approach to Pakistan, New Delhi’s arch-foe.
China watchful
A wary Beijing kept a close watch on the trip that Chinese commentators said was aimed at containing China, according to a Press Trust of India report on Chinese coverage of the trip.
Obama’s arrival was breaking news on Chinese state-run CCTV which showed live feed of him being received by Modi at the airport.
Prof Wang Yewei of the School of International Relations at the Renmin University told CCTV that from the US point of view, India is the key its Indo-Pacific strategy.
The US strategy, he said, was aimed at containing China and balancing Beijing’s Silk Road push into the Indian Ocean.
“But we understand India needs strategic cooperation with the US in defence and security because India has suffered due to separatists and terrorist attacks and needs capital investment from the US,” Wang said.
The visit was also aimed at containing Chinese and Russian influence in India since China is India’s largest trade partner, ranking above the US, he said.