Between Wen 038; Gen, Natwar slips in US trip

Between seeing off Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and receiving Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf over the weekend, External Affairs Minister ...

Between seeing off Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and receiving Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf over the weekend, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh is dashing off tonight to Washington for a crucial round of talks on transforming Indo-US ties.

Amidst its dizzying diplomatic dance with major powers, India8217;s attention now shifts from the talk of a strategic partnership with China to an expansive new engagement with the US that promises forward movement on defence, nuclear, space and high-technology cooperation.

When she was here in mid-March, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed the PM of the American commitment to back India8217;s aspirations to become a world power. Natwar Singh will now explore Washington8217;s thinking on translating the Rice proposals into reality and put across his own ideas on how to move forward. All indications are that Natwar Singh will be received at the highest political levels in Washington.

The Rice proposals include American sale of nuclear reactors to India, deepening cooperation in commercial space programmes and high technology transfers, a defence-industrial partnership that includes the sale of advanced weapons systems, a larger role for India in international institutions and a strategic economic dialogue.

Members of Natwar Singh8217;s delegation include Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, and senior officials from the Departments of Atomic Energy and Space.

The Bush administration has convinced itself that a new moment is at hand in Indo-US relations. Sceptics in New Delhi, however, keep their fingers crossed as they point to the record of raised but unmet expectations in the past. It is easy to recall the then Deputy National Security Advisor Steve Hadley8217;s visit to New Delhi in September 2003 with a major plan to intensify high technology cooperation with India by moving beyond the traditional bilateral discourse on non-proliferation.

The rapid-fire negotiations that followed produced only modest results in the form of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership announced by President Bush and PM A.B. Vajpayee in January 2004. By the time the NSSP was announced, not only was it considerably diluted but senior officials briefing the press in Washington sought to downplay it.

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Some in Delhi wonder whether the Rice proposals will survive the bureaucratic meat grinder in Washington.

All indications are that India is approaching these talks on a new relationship with the US with an open mind. It is up to the Bush administration to match its words with actions. Both sides also recognise that time is of the essence. If there are no early and tangible results from this new venture, scepticism might once again rule the roost in Indo-US relations.