February visit may mark renewal of close ties.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Two US envoys are set to visit India in early February, a sign of improved relations between the two countries just weeks after Indian Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade was indicted on charges of visa fraud and making false statements.
The chief of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the head of the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) will take consecutive trips to the subcontinent next month, breaking the streak of cancelled and postponed visits by US political dignitaries.
Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal postponed a scheduled trip to India earlier this month indefinitely, while Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz also cancelled a trip.
The urge to bring US-India ties back to where they were pre-December 12th, the day Khobragade was arrested, has been stated by Secretary of State John Kerry several times. Most recently, Kerry gave remarks on Indian Republic Day (January 26) to this effect: “[Minister of External Affairs Salman] Khurshid and I affirmed that we are eager to move forward with our high level dialogues and exchanges soon, and that our countries remain firmly committed to the indispensable US-India partnership .”
The FDA visit is particularly noteworthy, as its announcement comes swiftly on the heels of the administration shutting down a Ranbaxy factory in Toansa for illicit operating procedures. The FDA inspected the plant on January 11 and called for it to be closed down last week, making it the fourth Ranbaxy plant to be closed by the FDA. Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg will be leading the trip to India, presumably to re-inspect the factories in question and discuss measures to bring them up to standard.
On the EXIM front, bank chairman Fred P. Hochberg will be leading a trip designed to look for projects in India that could benefit from substantial US funding. The EXIM has been contacted by parties in New Delhi for potential partnerships regarding nuclear power projects, which may also include the US energy firm Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com