Obama’s visit

PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s visit to India went off with a bang. A series of breakthroughs have been made on knotty disputes, including nuclear and defence deals. Obama said that the two nations had
reached an understanding on eliminating obstaclesto a civil nuclear energy agreement. India and the US have declared that the dispute over nuclear liability has been resolved. Besides, the first pact of
its kind on maritime and naval coordination in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region has been concluded. Both India and the US are wary of an increasingly assertive China in the region. A deal has
been done to ink a fresh defence agreement for the next ten years. A Delhi declaration of friendship will upgrade the relationship between the two countries. The agreement has much in common with the Indo-
Soviet Friendship Treaty signed in 1971. The US has expressed interest in supporting India’s solar energy plans and in monitoring air quality over cities. The two countries will explore opportunities for
enhanced cooperation in the reach for Mars. Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam will be developed into smart cities. Pakistan has been asked to bring to justice the perpetrators of the November
2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Modi said that all this reflected ‘the transformation in our relationship’ referring to Obama’s visit. The man of action seems to have achieved more than Manmohan Singh did
over the years. It was not all smooth sailing. Indian Left parties boycotted Obama’s visit for inexplicable reasons. President Bill Clinton’s visit had not raised such hackles. China has betrayed considerable unease over the standoff on the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean issues. Pakistan will no doubt have its reservations about the US stand. To what extent the success of Obama’s visit will affect India’s neighbourhood
first policy remains to be seen.