India and the United States will witness national elections to choose the top executives next year. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will seek a third term in the government. President Joe Biden is seeking reelection in the USA, while reports suggest that Michelle Obama, the former first lady, could be brought in as the Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate. During the Presidential race, Joe Biden had asked Michelle Obama to join him as the Vice Presidential candidate. It’s believed that the Obamas practically run the current Joe Biden administration.
Just ahead of the crucial elections, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit gives the two leaders a chance to reassert their leadership for the future. A warm welcome to visiting dignitaries has been an unmistakable characteristic of the Indian PM’s working style. But the Americans have not been known for such symbolism. They are supposed to be more business-like. With Joe Biden stealing a leaf from PM Modi’s PR book, the American people have been treated with something unexpected in which Biden emerges much brighter and promising than he has been so far.
Tangible outcomes from the Indian PM’s US visit serve both leaders. So, there is plenty for the press from the US-India Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), Space cooperation, technology sharing, co-development, and co-production opportunities, Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership, telecommunications, Indo-U.S. Quantum Coordination Mechanism, Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement, and various defence deals, including India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs are the results of the engagement.
With India being the 5th largest economy aspiring to be the 3rd, next only to the US and China, it offers immense potential to global business. There is nothing to guess why top CEOs from Elon Musk to Sundar Pichai would sit with the Indian Prime Minister and discuss multi-billion dollar deals. A notable development that these discussions and potential deals hint at is the focus on high-tech and manufacturing. Interestingly, these are the areas in which China has done remarkably well in the past decades to become not only the second largest economy in the world but also leave the most powerful country with a staggering $31 trillion debt trap. A significant portion of this debt has come from China.
In the 2008 Presidential run-up in which Hillary Clinton was increasingly viewed as a Presidential candidate, she once remarked: How do you get tough on your banker? She was replying to someone complaining about the loss of manufacturing jobs and asked why America can’t get tough with China. The Barack Obama administration, which followed the Iraq war, where America was seen as the aggressor, had practically accepted the rise of China on the economic front. President Obama allowed this to continue as he remained focused on improving the global image of America. A suave and sophisticated Obama won hearts across the globe but lost the American plot to China. While the US has waged several wars and armed offensives from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, China has refrained from military interventions and remained focused on increasing its economic might. The narrative got a twist when businessman Donald Trump became the US President and began to investigate where America lost its jobs and edge in manufacturing.
Being the next-door neighbour, India is constantly threatened by the China factor. As the world unites to counter an aggressive China flush with funds, Indian PM Modi and American President Biden find themselves in a unique position when they can change the course of world diplomacy, and this must start with making themselves economically stronger than China. If that’s the objective, manufacturing is the new frontier where they must slug it out. From semiconductors to military hardware, space technology, and AI, the two countries must pip China. If Modi and Putin can do so, both will be hailed as job creators in their respective countries. They may likely win the elections, also.
Else India is seeing opposition parties coming together at a historic Patna meet, and Michelle Obama is getting ready to unleash another round of America’s charm offensive. An attorney, writer, mother, wife, and a former first lady, very few in world politics can match her credentials. (IPA Service)
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