Tough, driven and uber busy, Washington can be a real test for ambassadors trying to hammer their country’s message home to the Americans who begin with breakfast meetings and end with post-dinner drinks on policy.
It is hard to get attention and harder to keep it in this workaholic environment especially at a time when US domestic problems are overwhelming the debates and the foreign policy plate is weighed down by wars (Libya and Afghanistan) and constant troubles with Pakistan.
Yet, India has managed to stay in the forefront and intensively engage top US officials, working towards a deeper strategic partnership. The job of keeping at it, day after day, is done by India’s ambassadors – and New Delhi has the unique distinction of sending two women ambassadors in a row to the American capital. Meera Shankar finished her tenure last month and she is succeeded by Nirupama Rao, India ’s former foreign secretary. Both intelligent, dedicated officers known for their hard work, they have handled complex mandates with grace.
It is a happy coincidence that America’s diplomat-in-chief is also a woman – Hillary Clinton, a former senator, first lady, and a presidential candidate. Clinton made time to personally bid Shankar farewell last week despite having just completed a long, exhausting trip to Asia, including a visit to India for the second round of the strategic dialogue. When the Shankar went to the State Department headquarters on July 27 to make a farewell call to Clinton and review bilateral relations, the US secretary of state called the Indian ambassador’s tenure “celebrated.”
Two achievements are indeed worth celebrating. Shankar led the team in Washington, which delivered the US Administration’s support for India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Not an easy decision for Team Obama for the signals it would send to China, Pakistan and other hopefuls such as Brazil. But President Obama made the choice, capturing Indian hearts when he made the big announcement to the Indian Parliament during his visit last November.
Indian diplomats met several key opinion makers in Washington to build the momentum for US support for a permanent seat for India . Fortunately, they found acceptance for the idea and at least three reports released by US think tanks prior to Obama’s visit recommended US support for it. The White House was looking for an announcement that would mark the visit, symbolize the friendship and convince India that Obama indeed was serious about putting his own stamp on the relationship.
The other major step forward was the relaxation of US export controls on sensitive US technology and removal of Indian public sector companies from the dreaded “Entity List” – a legacy of the 1998 nuclear tests when the US imposed strict sanctions against India – which prevent them from buying dual-use technology. Though the relationship had evolved into a strategic partnership, these hurdles remained. In various US laws, India remained a country “of concern,” a country clubbed with the likes of Sudan to be watched for proliferation. Shankar argued relentlessly that this anomaly between words (strategic partner) and actions (keeping India on enemy list for trade) must go. India, she said over and over again, should be on the list of “friendly countries” and must not be denied access to technology. Obama’s visit ironed out this major wrinkle when he announced a relaxation of these lingering export controls. Premier Indian state enterprises such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation were removed from the black list.
As Rao takes over from Shankar as India’s envoy in Washington, more meat will be put on the bones of this evolving strategic partnership. Americans are keen for India to play a larger role in world affairs, as was evident in Clinton’s recent speech in Chennai. “The United States supports India’s Look East policy and we encourage India not just to look east, but to engage East and act East as well. And its leadership in South and Central Asia is critically important,” Clinton exhorted.
Rao brings her considerable experience to Washington, both as a former foreign secretary and a former ambassador to China (2006-2009). US officials will be eager to hear her assessment of the recent round of India-Pakistan talks concluded in New Delhi, as also her read on China. But Rao’s toughest task might be keeping America’s continued focus on India. For starting this November the White House will shift to re-election mode, becoming preoccupied with the rough and tumble of domestic politics. And she will have to build relationships with key Republican candidates and power-brokers – an emerging group leaning far, far right as evidenced by the popularity of Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) in the recent Iowa state presidential debates – should a change of guard take place in the White House.
Shankar faced a similar situation upon arrival in the summer of 2009, a time of transition in the United States when the new Democratic administration was just settling in. New Delhi worried that a Democratic government — historically prickly with India and caught in the old mind-set of human rights-in-Kashmir and nuclear proliferation issues — would lose the momentum built under Republican president George Bush. Bush had broken some “china” for India on the world stage by signing the civil nuclear deal in 2008.
In contrast, Candidate Obama had made “outsourcing” an issue during his campaign, much to India’s chagrin. Once president, he sent an alarming signal to New Delhi when he proposed a condominium of G-2 with China, by implication giving Beijing a higher status in Asia that made India uncomfortable. His line on Kashmir – push India via a special US envoy to resolve the issue –raised tempers in New Delhi.
After some plain talking from senior Indian officials in New Delhi and Washington, the White House thankfully dropped the idea. It was then up to Shankar to rebuild trust with the Obama administration, a slow and painstaking job as senior officials slowly shifted gears and understood Indian concerns. She handled three visits by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US, including a state visit – the first for President Obama – apart from other high level ministerial visits. Shankar also worked hard to make Washington understand that the economic growth models for India and China were different, that China was export-led and India ’s was domestic-demand driven and more likely to create jobs for US companies at home. Consequently, when Obama returned to the US from his India trip, he was able to deliver US jobs thanks to the large contracts signed by US companies in India .
As Rao takes over as India’s ambassador, top of her agenda will be rejuvenating American business interest especially that of US defence companies, in India. After the elimination of Lockheed Martin and Boeing from India’s $11 billion contract for the medium multi-role combat aircraft earlier this year Americans worry they can’t compete for big contracts in India.
The loss of the contract was a shock to Washington, and many opinion makers now conclude that New Del
hi is not fully prepared for a strategic partnership with the US, one of the key pillars of the relationship. Rao will also have to secure American support for protecting India’s security interests in Afghanistan as talks with various Taliban leaders get underway in earnest. Preliminary contacts have been established between US, Afghan and Taliban representatives in secrecy, according to news reports.
It will be a delicate and complex task to sustain US interest and build new avenues while working for results from the more than 20 joint working groups already established between the two countries. But then it is never easy managing relations between two large democracies with multiple stakeholders and such varied interests.
Seema Sirohi is a Washington-based analyst and a frequent contributor to Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. Seema is also on Twitter, and her handle is @seemasirohi
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