Ambassador spoke at the Carnegie Endowment.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The Indian Ambassador to the US, S. Jaishankar has lamented that despite the civil nuclear deal between India and the US going through, businesses here have not been able to reap the benefits.
“There is considerable disappointment that our nuclear understanding has not translated into substantial business for US companies so far,” he said, speaking at the Carnegie Endowment here.
The ambassador revealed that discussions are underway between the two sides to maximize the benefits that both India and the US are seeing from the civil nuclear deal, and added, “indirect benefits flowing from the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement far outweigh the direct ones.”
Jaishankar avoided the controversy surrounding the Khobragade incident. He, however, lauded the current state of Indo-US relations, saying, “politically there is no question that our comfort levels are higher than they have ever been before.”
The ambassador, who took over his position last month, said that the two countries’ partnership was not failing because of the 2008 financial crisis, saying that the days of rapid change are over and now there are slower but still visible signs of growth in both the US and India.
“In the nearer term, our diplomats and strategists are naturally confronted with a myriad of issues of international politics. We seem to agree on many of these issues but differ on some,” said Jaishankar. “Differences can, of course, be played up by a constituency pushing a particular cause, [but] having said that, it is also important that we resist calls to return to arguments of the past.”
Jaishankar laid out what he believes to be the four most critical points in strengthening Indo-US ties in the near future – recognizing that India’s economic slowdown is not solely a result of the global financial crisis, that India is “concerned about its reputation” and will do everything it can to become more inviting for international businesses, to mitigate and eventually completely stop the bickering about trade and investment issues, and to find a reasonable compromise on certain issues like pharmaceutical compliance, which has come under heavy fire over the past couple of years.
“In going about my task as Ambassador, I draw support from the vast goodwill that now characterizes the attitudes of our societies to the other,” said Jaishankar. “The grand strategy underwriting our ties is fundamentally sound. It needs maintenance and from time to time, an upgrade. That puts the emphasis on detailing and problem solving.”
The Ambassador is no stranger to the Carnegie Endowment. In June of 2007, he represented the Indian government at the Carnegie Endowment International Non-Proliferation Conference. The full text of Jaishankar’s speech can be read here.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com