[Today our partnership is robust, reliable and enduring, and it is expanding. Our relationship involves more bilateral collaboration than ever before — not just at the federal level but also at the state and local levels, between our two militaries, private sectors and civil society. Indeed, so much has happened that, in 2000, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could declare that we are natural allies.]
By
Narendra Modi and Barack Obama
As nations committed to
democracy, liberty, diversity and enterprise, India and the United States are
bound by common values and mutual interests. We have each shaped the positive
trajectory of human history, and through our joint efforts, our natural and
unique partnership can help shape international security and peace for years to
come.
As nations, we’ve
partnered over the decades to deliver progress to our people. The people of India
remember the strong foundations of our cooperation. The food production
increases of the Green Revolution and the Indian Institutes of Technology are
among the many products of our collaboration.
Today our partnership is
robust, reliable and enduring, and it is expanding. Our relationship involves
more bilateral collaboration than ever before — not just at the federal level
but also at the state and local levels, between our two militaries, private
sectors and civil society. Indeed, so much has happened that, in 2000,
then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could declare that we are natural
allies.
After many years of
growing cooperation since, on any given day, our students work together on
research projects, our scientists develop cutting-edge technology and senior
officials consult closely on global issues. Our militaries conduct joint
exercises in air, on land and at sea, and our space programs engage in
unprecedented areas of cooperation, leading us from Earth to Mars. And in this
partnership, the Indian American community has been a vibrant, living bridge
between us. Its success has been the truest reflection of the vitality of our
people, the value of America’s open society and the strength of what we can do
when we join together.
Still, the true potential
of our relationship has yet to be fully realized. The advent of a new
government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our
relationship. With a reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence, we
can go beyond modest and conventional goals. It is time to set a new agenda,
one that realizes concrete benefits for our citizens.
This will be an agenda
that enables us to find mutually rewarding ways to expand our collaboration in
trade, investment and technology that harmonize with India’s ambitious
development agenda, while sustaining the United States as the global engine of
growth. When we meet today in Washington, we will discuss ways in which we can
boost manufacturing and expand affordable renewable energy, while sustainably
securing the future of our common environment.
We will discuss ways in
which our businesses, scientists and governments can partner as India works to
improve the quality, reliability and availability of basic services, especially
for the poorest of citizens. In this, the United States stands ready to assist.
An immediate area of concrete support is the “Clean India” campaign, where we will
leverage private and civil society innovation, expertise and technology to
improve sanitation and hygiene throughout India.
While our shared efforts
will benefit our own people, our partnership aspires to be larger than merely
the sum of its parts. As nations, as people, we aspire to a better future for
all; one in which our strategic partnership also produces benefits for the
world at large. While India benefits from the growth generated by U.S.
investment and technical partnerships, the United States benefits from a
stronger, more prosperous India. In turn, the region and the world benefit from
the greater stability and security that our friendship creates. We remain
committed to the larger effort to integrate South Asia and connect it with
markets and people in Central and Southeast Asia.
As global partners, we
are committed to enhancing our homeland security by sharing intelligence,
through counterterrorism and law-enforcement cooperation, while we jointly work
to maintain freedom of navigation and lawful commerce across the seas. Our
health collaboration will help us tackle the toughest of challenges, whether
combating the spread of Ebola, researching cancer cures or conquering diseases
such as tuberculosis, malaria and dengue. And we intend to expand our recent
tradition of working together to empower women, build capacity and improve food
security in Afghanistan and Africa.
The exploration of space
will continue to fire our imaginations and challenge us to raise our ambitions.
That we both have satellites orbiting Mars tells its own story. The promise of
a better tomorrow is not solely for Indians and Americans: It also beckons us
to move forward together for a better world. This is the central premise of our
defining partnership for the 21st century. Forward together we go — chalein
saath saath.
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* Narendra Modi is prime minister of India. Barack Obama is president of the United States.
@ The Washington Post
@ The Washington Post
