Describing the India-US relationship as “robust, reliable and enduring”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the “true potential” of the ties was yet to be fully realised and the advent of a new government in India was a “natural opportunity to broaden and deepen” the ties. “Forward together we go — chalein saath saath”, they declared in a joint editorial — the first by an Indian PM and an American President — in The Washington Post. Modi and Obama said it was time to set a “new agenda”, and with a “reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence”, both countries could go beyond “modest and conventional goals”. “This will be an agenda that enables us to find mutually rewarding ways to expand our collaboration in trade, investment and technology that harmonise with India’s ambitious development agenda, while sustaining the United States as the global engine of growth,” they said. “Ties between the United States and India are rooted in the shared desire of our citizens for justice and equality. When Swami Vivekananda presented Hinduism as a world religion, he did so at the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. When Martin Luther King Jr. sought to end discrimination and prejudice against African Americans, he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent teachings. Gandhiji himself drew upon the writings of Henry David Thoreau,” said the editorial. They said as global partners, they were committed to enhancing homeland security by sharing intelligence, through counter-terrorism and law-enforcement cooperation, while jointly working to maintain freedom of navigation and lawful commerce across the seas. “Today our partnership is robust, reliable and enduring, and it is expanding. Our relationship involves more bilateral collaboration than ever before — not just at the federal level but also at the state and local levels, between our two militaries, private sectors and civil society. Indeed, so much has happened that, in 2000, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could declare that we are natural allies,” they said. “Still, the true potential of our relationship has yet to be fully realised. The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship. With a reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence, we can go beyond modest and conventional goals. It is time to set a new agenda, one that realises concrete benefits for our citizens,” said the editorial. Talking about the existing cooperation, they said “our militaries conduct joint exercises in air, on land and at sea, and our space programmes engage in unprecedented areas of cooperation, leading us from Earth to Mars.” They also lauded the role being played by the “vibrant” Indian American community, saying it has been a living bridge between the two nations. Stating that they would discuss ways to enhance cooperation in trade, science and technology and government-to-government level to help improve the quality, reliability and availability of basic services in India, they said, “In this, the United States stands ready to assist. An immediate area of concrete support is the ‘Clean India’ campaign, where we will leverage private and civil society innovation, expertise and technology to improve sanitation and hygiene throughout India.” The two leaders said they would aim for the strategic partnership to be larger than merely the sum of its parts to ensure a better future for the citizens of the two countries as well as to the world at large. “While India benefits from the growth generated by US investment and technical partnerships, the United States benefits from a stronger, more prosperous India. In turn, the region and the world benefit from the greater stability and security that our friendship creates. We remain committed to the larger effort to integrate South Asia and connect it with markets and people in Central and Southeast Asia,” they said. Referring to areas of deeper cooperation, Modi and Obama said collaboration in the health sector would help tackle the “toughest of challenges” like combating the spread of Ebola, researching cancer cures or conquering diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and dengue. “The exploration of space will continue to fire our imaginations and challenge us to raise our ambitions. That we both have satellites orbiting Mars tells its own story. The promise of a better tomorrow is not solely for Indians and Americans: it also beckons us to move forward together for a better world,” said the editorial. “This is the central premise of our defining partnership for the 21st century. Forward together we go — chalein saath saath.” Modi and Obama said both India and the US were bound by common values and mutual interests as they were committed to democracy, liberty, diversity and enterprise. “We have each shaped the positive trajectory of human history, and through our joint efforts, our natural and unique partnership can help shape international security and peace for years to come,” they said.
