Indian leader’s visit to the US sets stage for new relationship

A decade after he was turned down for a visitor’s visa to the United States, Narendra Modi was the guest of honor at a dinner Monday in the White House hosted by President Barack Obama, and attended a meeting Tuesday in the Oval House Office. Being the leader of the world’s largest democracy has its perks.

Modi, who was elected prime minister of India earlier this year, has come to the United States bearing a gift of openness for potential investors and promising to simplify the immigration bureaucracy for Indians living abroad.

Modi is appealing for help from Indian-Americans in building his country’s economy.

The prime minister, who addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, received rock-star treatment Sunday when he appeared before 18,000 people in Madison Square Garden. Modi urged the raucous crowd to “join hands to serve our mother India.”

But it was his White House dinner and meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office that attracted the most attention. The leader of the world’s largest democracy and the leader of the world’s greatest and most successful democracy obviously understand the importance of establishing closer ties after years of strained relations.

There are numerous reasons the governments in Washington and New Delhi have been at odds. At the top of the list is the war in Afghanistan that required the U.S.-led military coalition to make book with Pakistan.

That’s because coalition forces, which invaded Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 and ousted the ruling Islamic extremist Taliban, spent years trying to keep terrorist groups out of the war-torn country.

Taliban and al-Qaida fighters have set up camps in the remote mountain region in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. It is from these camps that attacks are being launched against the Afghan and coalition forces.

The U.S. has worked closely with Pakistan to target the terrorists, but there are elements within the government in Islamabad that support the Islamic extremists.

Although the Obama administration has misgivings about its “ally,” the situation on the ground and the instability in Afghanistan necessitate a continued relationship to ensure that the Taliban extremists do not return to power in Kabul.

But the relationship is not sitting well with India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan. Both countries possess nuclear weapons.

Against that backdrop, Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United States offers both nations the opportunity to reconnect and rebuild the long-standing relationship between the two democracies.

Middle class

India’s economy, which was one of the fastest growing with a vibrant middle class just seven years ago, has suffered as a result of the global recession. With about 13 million young people entering the job market each year, the need for foreign investment has never been greater.

However, India’s vast bureaucracy, red tape, barriers to the free market and government corruption at all levels have made American companies leery about investing.

Modi is determined to change that perception. He vowed to fight corruption and champion India’s legions of poor whom he said he wanted to participate in the nation’s progress. He touted India’s promise as a tech giant, joking that it’s no longer known as a nation of “snake charmers,” according to the Associated Press.

“Our country used to play with a snake, now we play with a mouse,” he told the gathering in Madison Square Garden.

A closer relationship between the U.S. and India will benefit both countries.