Modi, Obama promise to move forward

India and the US vowed to move forward together to forge a “defining partnership” that will set a new agenda to realise concrete benefits for the citizens and to go “beyond modest and conventional goals”.

The “promise of a better tomorrow” has been articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barak Obama in a joint bylined guest editorial published in The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Though the two leaders met for the first time in the White House for bilateral talks, the contents and contours of the piece highlighting the future of Indo-US relations were discussed digitally between the two and finalised on Monday evening, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

This is Modi’s first joint editorial with the US president, who in the past wrote similar pieces with other world leaders, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
After outlining several areas for future cooperation, the editorial ended with the positive note of “Chalein Saath Saath” (Forward together we go).

The cooperation will range from defence, security and intelligence to health, science, environment and commerce.

“We will discuss ways in which we can boost manufacturing and expand affordable renewable energy, while sustainably securing the future of our common environment,” reads the editorial.

“We will discuss ways in which our business, scientists and governments can partner as India works to improve the quality, reliability and availability of basic services, especially for the poorest of citizens,” it added.

Modi’s “Clean India” campaign – to be launched on October 2 – will be an immediate area of cooperation as private and civil society innovation, expertise and technology from the US would be used to improve sanitation and hygiene throughout India.

The Modi-Obama editorial dwelt on the past glories, from the time of Swami Vivekananda in Chicago in 1893 to Martin Luther King Jr, who was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi in his fight against discrimination and prejudice again African-Americans.

In 2000, then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared that India and the US were natural allies. “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,” it notes.

“While India benefits from the growth generated by US investment and technical partnership, the US benefits from a stronger, more prosperous India. The region and the world benefits from the greater stability and security that our friendship creates,” says the editorial.

Incidentally, the publication coincides with the US signing a bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan on troop pull out.
DH News Service