On January 29, 2009, in New Delhi, The Asia Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) convened top India and U.S. experts to examine U.S.-India relations under the new Obama Administration. The following is a summary of the day’s discussions and analysis prepared by CII.

Indian and American business leaders, academics, and journalists came together in late January to discuss and debate the “Future Direction of U.S. Relations with India and the Region” in New Delhi. Organized by The Asia Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the discussion focused on the Foundation’s recent report, “America’s Role in Asia: Asian and American Views” and highlighted issues needing attention to strengthen U.S.-India relations under the new U.S. Administration. The discussions covered deepening trade and commerce links, collaborating on technology innovations to address climate change, and developing counter-terrorism strategies, and ensuring stability in Asia. Given the sheer size and economic weight of Asia – and with India emerging as a major player – America’s future is inextricably linked to the region.

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By Ambassador Karl F. Inderfurth

Karl F. Inderfurth is a professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and a member of The Asia Foundation’s Board of Trustees. He served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs from 1997-2001 and as U.S. representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs from 1993-1997. Ambassador Inderfurth testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee on February 26, 2009. Here is what he said.

Chairman Ackerman, Ranking Member Burton, Members of the Committee: Mr. Chairman, you and I had the privilege of joining President Bill Clinton on his five-day visit to India in March 2000. Little did we know then that today that visit is seen as a “turning point” in U.S.-India relations. After decades of being “estranged democracies,” the United States and India have entered a new era that can best be described as “engaged democracies.”

It is truly amazing just how far the U.S.-India relationship has come in less than a decade. This remarkable transformation in relations, started under Clinton, was then accelerated under President George W. Bush and is now set to continue its positive, upward trajectory under President Barack Obama.
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By Rajendra Abhyankar

Ambassador Rajendra Abhyankar was the Indian Secretary of External Affairs from 2001-2004 and has served as the Indian Ambassador to the EU, Belgium and Luxemburg, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Syria, and Cyprus. He was also the Consul General of India in San Francisco, California. He currently serves as The Asia Foundation’s Director of India Programs. He can be reached at rabhyankar@asiafound.org.

In India, a country whose organising principle is that of a casteless and classless society, Barack Obama’s taking office as the 44th U.S. President has struck a resonating chord. Caste and class still dominate domestic politics here, and there is widespread recognition that America has again shown the way, and the increasing number of democratic countries pledged to multi-culturalism and plurality look to America to continue to set the example. Indians’ collective elation was expressed recently in a leading Indian newspaper: “…in the fact of Obama’s presidency alone, the souls of a people long oppressed find utterance, to use Jawaharlal Nehru’s words for India.” This American milestone is replete with promise, but equally fraught with dangers. We wait to see the way that this develops, now that Obama is in office. But the common journey of India and the United States to try to close the gaps within our societies, provides a new under-pinning for India-US relations for the future. The struggle to build a multi-cultural society of equals is an uphill one and there is much to learn from one other.
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By C. Raja Mohan

C. Raja Mohan is Professor of South Asian Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and a Contributing Editor of ‘The Indian Express’, New Delhi. He recently made South Asia policy recommendations for the incoming administration through The Asia Foundation’s 2008 America’s Role in Asia project.

Raja Mohan

After the awful terror attacks against Mumbai last month, the conventional wisdom in the Subcontinent and beyond is that the weak governments in New Delhi and Islamabad may be unable to manage the gathering crisis in Indo-Pak relations and will inevitably drift towards a military conflict.

Yet, with the help of some purposeful diplomacy from Washington, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari have managed to postpone if not avoid the more terrible consequences of the terrorist aggression against Mumbai.
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By Balasubramanian Iyer

Balu Iyer is The Asia Foundation’s Director of Field Operations, South Asia, for The Asia Foundation. He can be reached at bgiyer@asiafound.org.

Many in India expected India’s ruling Congress Party to be defeated in recent state elections because of its inept handling of the Mumbai attacks and the souring economy. It didn’t, proving yet again that politics is local. In the forthcoming general elections, however, these global factors of terrorism and the economy will matter.

In Mumbai and throughout India, there is public outrage not only against the perpetrators of the attacks and their supporters, but against an utterly ineffective intelligence and security infrastructure. The Indian electorate is waiting to see the Congress Party’s response to the terrorist attacks; this will determine the Party’s fate in the Parliamentary elections, to be held in mid-2009.
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This week, President-elect Obama announced his national security team, and with last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, strengthening bilateral and regional relationships in South Asia will be among their most urgent priorities. In The Asia Foundation’s recently released recommendations for the in-coming administration, America’s Role in Asia, former Ambassador Karl Inderfurth provides recommendations for U.S. policy with India, while CSIS scholar Teresita Schaffer weighs in on Pakistan and Dr. Raja Mohan gives insight on what the South Asian region wants to see from Obama’s team.

On October 20th, The Asia Foundation Ambassador Karl “Rick” Inderfurth, Asia Foundation trustee and former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, spoke at  Stanford University, along with other Asia Foundation trustees, Ted Eliot, Jr., former Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Teresita Schaffer, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, in a conversation called  “Awaiting the Next U.S. Administration: Seizing New Opportunities in India–Addressing Growing Challenges  With Pakistan and Afghanistan.” All three wrote chapters in the just-published volume, America’s Role in Asia. More about the discussion can be read in the article “India, U.S. on Track for More Accords: Inderfurth.”

By V. Bruce J. Tolentino

Bruce Tolentino is The Asia Foundation’s Director for Economic Reform and Development Programs. He can be reached at btolentino@asiafound.org.

Over the past few weeks, as the U.S. financial system has reeled from a shocking series of major “adjustments,” Asia’s economists and bankers remind themselves of the key lessons — painfully taught — by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s:  (a) all markets are linked; (b) financial markets are much more volatile than others and thus require more stringent oversight and regulation; and (c) refocusing on economic fundamentals is key to long-term recovery and growth.

Taking the long view, the medium-to-long term impact of the U.S. financial crisis on Asia is likely to be muted.
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By Karl F. Inderfurth

Ambassador Karl Inderfurth, a Trustee of The Asia Foundation and contributor to America’s Role in Asia: Asian and American Views, summarized his recommendations for a new U.S. administration on how to strengthen the U.S.-India relationship for The Hindu. In the op-ed, he provides a seven-point agenda for the United States, which focuses on strengthening strategic ties, realizing economic potential, pursuing a broader nuclear dialogue, highlighting higher education, supporting India’s United Nations bid, collaborating more in the neighborhood, and promoting a cooperative triangle with China.

By John Brandon

John Brandon is Director of The Asia Foundation’s International Relations program and head of America’s Role in Asia.

With our election cycle, every four years American foreign policy has a fresh opportunity to be re-examined and re-strategized. Come 2009, U.S. policy towards Asia will continue to directly affect 60% of the world’s population. Many Asians tell me they’re concerned that decisions affecting them, and their countries’ security, are being made unilaterally in Washington. Many say they believe the Global War on Terror tops the U.S. foreign policy agenda, trumping all else. Asian policymakers I’ve spoken to say repeatedly they have little input in decisions made in the U.S. and that their domestic interests are rarely if ever taken into account. Given the political, economic, and security interests of the U.S. in the region, it is essential that both Americans and Asians contribute to solving problems of mutual concern.
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