Lawmakers who came with Obama during his three-day visit.to India were impressed by the comfrotablility shared by the two leaders.
Senator Warner said it was “thrilling” to experience the real sense of optimism and enthusiasm for reinvigorating the US relationship with India. “Many of the announcements made during our three-day trip were incremental, but they nonetheless represent genuine signs of progress,” he said in the monthly newsletter of the Senate India Caucus.
Noting that it was his my honour to accompany Obama this week to celebrate India’s Republic Day, the commemoration of the adoption of India’s democratic constitution in 1950, Warner said he was proud to attend as co-chair of the bipartisan Senate India Caucus.
“As two of the world’s largest democracies and with the incredible Indian American population that contributes so much to Virginia’s culture and commerce, it is critical for us to continue to deepen and broaden the existing framework of partnership and friendship between the United States and India,” Warner said.
“During a series of productive conversations, Obama and Modi announced a nuclear deal that could clear the way for multinational corporations to build civilian nuclear power plants in India to provide clean power for the people of India,” he said.
For the first time, the US clearly expressed support for bringing India into the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the chief trade group in the region, he said.
The takeway. China has beenfocusing on Pakistan. Pakistan was not mentioned by Obama, in public. Modi announced progress had been made on negotiations over a civil nuclear deal — a new 10-year defense cooperation agreement between the two countries was announced — which may have far-reaching consequences for both sides on sharing intelligence and military education, and there was much talk about boosting bilateral trade from its current level of around $100 billion a year to $500 billion by 2025.
“In my own conversations with Prime Minister Modi and officials from India’s government and industry, I focused on the need for India to make progress on efforts to ease red tape, regulations and legal hurdles that have prevented the US and India from fully tapping the exciting potential of this economic relationship,” Warner said.