India-US Dialogue In Osaka

-

On the side-lines of the G20 Osaka Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted nine bilaterals (with Australia, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the US), two tri-laterals (Japan, India, US as well as Russia, India, China) and also an informal meeting of BRICS leaders in a span of three days. While the main agenda of the G20 was to discuss global economics; trade and geo-politics are interlinked and interdependent. Trade is a major concern between India and the United States. Issues related to trade were discussed by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in a bilateral meeting.

One of the major outcomes of the G20 Summit was the detente in the ongoing trade war between China and the US. India is closely watching the negotiations between the two nations as it tries to address its own differences with the US on tariffs. President Trump had criticised India’s high tariffs and wants New Delhi to lower its trade barriers. India has raised tariffs on 28 items, including almond, pulses and walnut, exported from the US in retaliation to America's withdrawal of preferential access for Indian products. India has taken the US to the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism over the imposition of import duties on steel and aluminium. The matter was also discussed by US Secretary of State Pompeo during his brief visit to India just before the G20 Summit. It has now been decided by New Delhi and Washington that the trade ministers of the two nations would meet at the earliest to resolve the issues

Apart from trade, the other issues that were discussed between the Indian Prime Minister and American President were 5-G technology, defence relations and Iran. On Iran, India’s primary focus is on stability and peace in the Persian Gulf region. However, the escalating regional crisis has necessitated the deployment of Indian Navy ships to ensure the free movement of Indian vessels. This was appreciated by the US, which has assured that it would ensure that oil supplies to India are not affected.
An important agenda point was 5-G technology, especially in the wake of the US allowing American companies to continue to do business with Huawei. India is looking at 5-G technology and the issues of security raised by the US are now being studied in India too. The US is developing its technological expertise in the new technology and is looking at India for both business and technical opportunities; while India is looking for collaborations and for the technological development and design process. India may offer upto a billion users of this technology and essentially would guide global trends on this matter. The focus is to build on

how 5-G capabilities in design, technology and software development came be made a part of  “Make in India” campaign. This would allow Indian and US business and industry to work together beyond the relations shared by the two governments.

Another area of collaboration for the two nations has been in the defence sector. While not much was discussed during the meeting in Osaka, India has been deepening its defence relations with the US which also includes the security partnership in the broader Indo-Pacific region. This issue was a point of discussion in the Indian Prime Minister’s meeting with the US President and Japanese Prime Minister for the second JAI (Japan America India) trilateral. The trilateral discussed the ways that the three countries could work together in the area of connectivity and infrastructure for the larger development of the region. The three nations also share similar goals of ensuring peace and security so that the benefits of new concepts are shared by region as a whole. The three countries have also agreed to hold an annual Summit to build on existing mutual cooperation in the maritime sector of the Indian Ocean Region. This is significant in view of the growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Script: Dr. Stuti Banerjee, Strategic Analyst on American Affairs

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Data Darbar Suicide Attack

-
The deadly attack on the famous Sufi shrine Data Darbar in Lahore on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan that killed 10 and injured more than 25 people is yet another ghastly reminder that Pakistan still shelters terrorist groups that have now come to haunt its own State. The suicide bombing was apparently targeted towards the elite security force that was assigned to guard the Shrine as the inflow of devotees increase during Ramadan. This is not the first time a Sufi Shrine was targeted by terrorists in Pakistan. Many Shrines like Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Baba Farid in Pakpattan and Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi were attacked in the past. The Sufi nature of these shrines has made them an easy target of the terrorist groups that consider Sufis to be heretics. The terror organisations within Pakistan such as the Pakistan Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Hizbul Ahrar (said to be a splinter faction of the local Taliban) that took responsibility for the latest bombings in...
Read more

Military Build-Up In The Persian Gulf

-
In response to the attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week; the US Department of Defence announced that it is sending an additional 1,000 troops to bolster security in the Persian Gulf. This comes amidst the escalating tensions in the region following US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPoA) in May 2018. The US also re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran and last month ended all waivers for Iranian oil imports. President Donald Trump further decided to impose new sanctions and warned of secondary sanctions on individuals or entities doing business with Iranian industries under sanctions. Iran too had responded with warning other signatories of the JCPoA, especially UK, France and Germany, to do more to ease the impact of sanctions on Iranian economy failing which Tehran will be forced to retract from the deal. This prompted the US to send additional troops including Arlington and a Patriot missile battery. At ...
Read more

Pakistan’s Crippling Financial Crisis

-
As if the turmoil due to terrorism was not enough for Pakistan, it is facing fresh spate of demonstrations against unprecedented inflation that is putting the already crippling economy out of gear. Inflation is expected to rise to double-digitssoon. The major reason for this has been the steep rise in food and energy prices that has had a cascading effect on the process of other commodities. Pakistan’s imports are increasing and Foreign Exchange reserves have fallen to just about $8 billion; this is just enough for meeting payment obligations for two months. The exchange value of the Pakistani Rupee has fallen to 150 to a US dollar.It has been devalued 20 times during the past three years by about 20%. Since Pakistan is importing major part of its fuel requirements and many other commodities of daily consumption; steep inflation has led to almost halving the incomes of the people. This has led to large-scale public unrest in the country. Street protests led by Jamaat-e-Islami in Pesha...
Read more