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Breakthrough in US-India nuclear trade as Obama visits Modi

Prakash Singh, AFP | US President Barack Obama (left) and Indian Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) wave prior to a meeting in New Delhi on January 25,2015

Latest update : 2015-01-25

US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a breakthrough onnuclear trade on Sunday, a step that both sides hope will help establish an enduring strategicpartnership.Obama (http://www.france24.com/en/tag/barack-obama/)and Modi (http://www.france24.com/en/tag/narendra-modi/)expressed hope that a landmark2008 nuclear agreement between the two countries could begin to bear fruit.

We are committed to moving towards full implementation and this is an important step that shows how we can work together to elevate our relationship,Obama said.

The countries had been at an impasse over US insistence on tracking the fissile material it supplies to India and over Indian liability provisions that havediscouraged US firms from capitalising on the 2008 civil nuclear agreement.

Ultimately its up to the companies to go forward, but the two governments came to an understanding, he said.

Signalling his determination to take ties to a higher level, Modi broke with protocol to meet and bear-hug Obama as he landed in New Delhi earlier in the day.It was a remarkable spectacle given that, just a year ago, Modi was persona non grata in Washington and denied a visa to the United States.

This (visit) is highly symbolic for both countries, FRANCE 24s Surabhi Tandon reported from New Delhi.

America sees India as a counterbalance to Chinas growing influence over the region which is why it has made more of an effort to develop this strategicpartnership with India, Tandon added.

After a working lunch, the two leaders got down to talks to finalise agreements on climate change, renewable energy, taxation and defence cooperation.

But Modi cautioned that work was still needed to create a solid partnership between the worlds two largest democracies.

We have to convert a good start into lasting progress. This requires translating our vision into sustained action and concrete achievements, he said.

During his visit, Obama will become the first US president to attend Indias Republic Day parade, an annual show of military might long associated with theanti-Americanism of the Cold War, and will host a radio show with Modi.

Armed police and soldiers lined the roads of New Delhi, where Obama was met with a guard of honour and a 21-gun salute in a formal ceremony at thepresidential palace.

Up to 40,000 security personnel have been deployed for the visit and 15,000 new closed-circuit surveillance cameras have been installed in the capital,according to media reports.

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New vitality

Elected last May, Modi has injected a new vitality into the economy and foreign relations and, to Washingtons delight, begun pushing back against Chinasgrowing presence in South Asia.

Annual bilateral trade of $100 billion is seen as vastly below potential and Washington wants it to grow fivefold.

Like Obama, Modi rose from a modest home to break into a political elite dominated by powerful families. Aides say the two men bonded in Washington inSeptember when Obama took Modi to the memorial of Martin Luther King, whose rights struggle was inspired by Indias Mahatma Gandhi.

The chemistry aides describe is striking because Modis politics is considerably to the right of Obamas, and because he was banned from visiting theUnited States for nearly a decade after deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in a state he governed.

Obama, the first sitting US president to visit India twice, also enjoyed a close friendship with Modis predecessor Manmohan Singh, who in 2008 staked hispremiership on a controversial deal that made India the sixth legitimate atomic power and marked a high point in Indo-US relations.

In a reminder that personal chemistry is not always enough, ties between Washington and India descended into bickering over protectionism that culminatedin a fiery diplomatic spat in 2013 and the abrupt departure of the US ambassador from New Delhi, who has only just been replaced.

Obama will depart slightly early from India to travel to Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah, instead of a planned visit to the Taj Mahal.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Date created : 2015-01-25