April is warmest month for India in Washington

US Pacific Command Chief Admiral William J Fallon will arrive in the Capital on April 12, meet Defence top brass and visit the Western Command in Mumbai. The key topic in his talks will be the supply of P-3c Orion maritime surveillance planes to the Indian Navy.

Fallon will be followed by US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on April 13. He is expected to initial the pathbreaking Open Skies Agreement with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

Coming after the US decision to supply F-16 fighters to Pakistan, Natwar Singh’s April 13-14 visit to Washington—yet to be confirmed by South Block—will be crucial as the details of the US offer made will be explained to the Foreign Minister.

As of now, the two sides are looking towards top-level dialogue in energy, strategic affairs and economy. While Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has invited his US counterpart Samuel Bodman for a dialogue on energy issues, the economic dialogue will be between Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Al Hubbard, chief economic advisor to President Bush.

South Block and the Indian Embassy in Washington are firming up the dates of Ahluwalia’s visit to the US. Though the visit of US Treasury Secretary John Snow to New Delhi was postponed last month, a meeting with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is on cards. Dates are also being fixed for a meeting between National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and his US counterpart Stephen Hadley.

The interlocutors on strategic dialogue are expected to be decided during Singh’s visit. Both the countries will chart out a roadmap towards nuclear energy cooperation. A conclusion of this agreement is expected to take place when Manmohan Singh visits Washington later in July this year. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee is also slated to visit Washington, in June. While Mukherjee has gone public saying that India will consider the F-16 and F-18 offer of the US, he has also stated that fighter supplies to Islamabad may impact the Indo-Pak peace process. Washington has quietly made known to New Delhi that it will supply 32 F-16 planes to Pakistan and the deliveries will be made within two years. It will use Mukherjee’s visit to impress upon the rather reluctant Indian Defence establishment that the offer of co-production of F-16 will go a long way in addressing to the concerns of unreliability of the US hardware supplies.

With Prime Minister Singh willing to examine the US offer, South Block and the State Department are working to ensure that the F-16 supplies to Pakistan do not drag down the momentum of the bilateral ties.