'US cannot shape the world
without India'
By
Arun Kumar
Washington,
Oct 17 (IANS) Describing the India-US civil nuclear deal as
a "game-changing" success story, a senior Republican
leader has advised the next US president that American efforts
to shape the world may not succeed fully without India.
"The
bottom line is that American efforts to shape the world are
unlikely to succeed fully without the cooperation of India,"
said Senator Dick Lugar Wednesday adding, "Its sheer
size ensures that it will have an enormous impact on the global
economy."
The
top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was
laying out at the National Defence University what was described
as "a new foreign policy approach for the next president
focusing on energy security, trade, climate change, and pro-active
American leadership."
"With
patient investments in the building blocks of national security
and attention to long term strategic opportunities, the United
States will thrive in this century as we did in the last,"
he told Republican nominee John McCain and his Democratic
rival Barack Obama.
Amplifying
this dynamic, Lugar cited the India nuclear deal as a case
"in which our government has succeeded in implementing
a game-changing policy that opens up new economic and strategic
opportunities that may benefit our diplomacy for decades."
"By
far the most forward looking foreign policy achievement of
the current administration was the recent nuclear agreement
with India, which could free the US-Indian relationship from
decades of contentiousness," he said.
"The
benefits of this pact are designed to be a lasting incentive
for India to abstain from further nuclear weapons tests and
to cooperate closely with the United States in stopping proliferation,"
Lugar said.
"But
the strategic benefits of the relationship extend far beyond
the nuclear agenda," added the lawmaker who as then chairman
of the Senate panel played a key role in crafting the US enabling
law, the Hyde Act.
"We
have already received some benefits from this engagement,"
said Lugar suggesting, "India is taking a more positive
outlook toward the US military presence in Afghanistan than
it did originally."
"It
supported our efforts to constrain Iran's nuclear programme
through its votes in the IAEA (International Atomic Energy
Agency) Board of Governors in 2005 and 2006," he said.
"India has also taken a more supportive attitude toward
the Proliferation Security Initiative, though it has thus
far declined to join."
"The
bottom line is that American efforts to shape the world are
unlikely to succeed fully without the cooperation of India.
Its sheer size ensures that it will have an enormous impact
on the global economy," Lugar said.
The
nuclear deal gives the US a better chance to cooperate with
the Indians on limiting carbon emissions, he said. "We
have a strong interest in expanding energy cooperation with
India to develop new technologies, cut green house gas emissions,
and prepare for declining global fossil fuel reserves."
"The
United States' own energy problems will be exacerbated if
we do not forge energy partnerships with India, China, and
other nations experiencing rapid economic growth," said
Lugar.
The
Indiana senator said the agreement also improves US "access
to the burgeoning information technology industry in India
and strengthens our position related to strategic issues pertaining
to China, on which India is naturally predisposed to be with
us."
"A
closer relationship with India, gives us more diplomatic leverage
in preventing flare-ups of the conflict between India and
Pakistan," Lugar said suggesting "Further down the
road, it is reasonable to expect greater conventional military
cooperation with the Indians as they buy more of our weapons."
"This
could be critical to areas of joint interest, such as counter-terrorism
and the suppression of piracy," the lawmaker said adding,
"With a well-educated middle class that is larger than
the entire US population, India can be an anchor of stability
in Asia and a centre of economic growth."
"By
concluding this pact, the US has embraced a long-term outlook
that will give us new diplomatic options," Lugar said
describing it as "opportunity to build a strategic partnership
with a nation that shares our democratic values and will exert
increasing influence on the world stage."
Indo-Asian
News Service
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