[Mr. Obama’s visit, his
second as president, is a major event in India. Despite lingering distrust in
many parts of the government, largely over Washington’s history of support for
rival Pakistan, the United States enjoys widespread popularity among the general
population. For weeks, the Hindi news media has dissected details of Mr.
Obama’s planned visit, running half-page cutaway graphics of his limousine and
airplane, and broadcasting a detailed report about his BlackBerry. A Hindustan
Times report implored the first lady to “Please Dress Desi,” featuring a series of
Indian designers offering to provide her with couture saris.]
 |
| Prime Minister Modi Welcomes President Obama |
NEW DELHI — President
Obama arrived here on
Sunday morning for a three-day visit aimed at forging agreements with India to work together to curb climate
change and to break
through an impasse that has blocked civilian nuclear cooperation for years.
Reinforcing his personal affinity for the president, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi broke with
protocol to meet Mr. Obama and Michelle Obama on the tarmac as they disembarked
fromAir
Force One. The two leaders exchanged warm handshakes and a hug as
they prepared for a pomp-filled visit that will include a national parade, a
state dinner and a tree-planting ceremony.
Negotiators were working
to clear the way for American companies to build civilian nuclear power plants
in India. Mr. Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, sealed a civilian
nuclear cooperation agreement with India, but it has been held up for years by
a dispute over India’s liability law. The Indian news media reported Sunday
that the two sides had made progress toward a breakthrough that would be
announced later in the day.
The Obama administration
has also been trying to craft an agreement over climate change, although
American officials have cautioned against expecting anything as significant as
the one Mr. Obama struck in November with China setting specific goals for reductions
in greenhouse gases. Instead, Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi seem set to announce a
series of relatively smaller cooperative steps and an agreement to work
together on a broader global plan.
Mr. Obama’s visit, his
second as president, is a major event in India. Despite lingering distrust in
many parts of the government, largely over Washington’s history of support for
rival Pakistan, the United States enjoys widespread popularity among the
general population. For weeks, the Hindi news media has dissected details of
Mr. Obama’s planned visit, running half-page cutaway graphics of his limousine
and airplane, and broadcasting a detailed report about his BlackBerry. A
Hindustan Times report implored the first lady to “Please Dress Desi,” featuring a series of
Indian designers offering to provide her with couture saris.
Mr. Obama’s arrival was
marred to some extent by his decision, announced just as he left Washington, to cut the visit short by several hours and skip a tour of the Taj Mahal in
order to fly to Saudi Arabia to pay respects to the family of King Abdullah, who died on Friday. The cancellation of the
visit to the Taj Mahal, India’s most iconic site, was seen as a disappointment
here.
But Mr. Obama planned to pay
homage to other cherished symbols of India’s status as the world’s largest
democracy. Shortly after landing, he headed to Rajghat for a wreath-laying and
tree-planting ceremony at the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of modern
India. Mr. Obama’s tree was planted on the other side of a walkway from one
planted by President Bill Clinton during his own visit in 2000.
On Sunday evening, Mr.
Obama was to be the guest of honor at a state dinner hosted by Mr. Modi, who
was returning the favor after a visit to the White House last September.
On Monday, Mr. Obama will be the chief guest at the annual Republic Day parade
marking the anniversary of the day India’s Constitution went into force, the
first time an American president has been honored with that role.
The display of friendship
stands in stark contrast to the state of the relationship just a year ago after
the arrest and strip search of an Indian diplomat accused of exploiting a housekeeper in New York. Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi
have made it a priority to move beyond that dispute, even though some advocacy
groups fretted that meant Washington would turn away from serious human rights issues.
Neelam Deo, a longtime
Indian diplomat who now heads Gateway House, a foreign policy research
organization based in Mumbai, said that Mr. Modi would distinguish himself
principally by projecting a simple message about the United States.
“It is a moment where the coyness of the
previous government has been set aside,” she said. “That is not his style. He
is pretty explicit. I would say he has gone all the way to project the message
— and there is nothing ideological about this — that the U.S. is the most
important country in the world for us. It’s what we look for.”
Foreign policy has been a
central focus of Mr. Modi’s first months in office, although it was barely
mentioned during his development-focused campaign last year. He has made it a
priority to project a more forceful leadership role for India among its South
Asian neighbors, challenging China’s growing partnerships with the leaders of
Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Simultaneously, he is exploring deeper economic
ties with China, though a visit from the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, was
marred by tension over the disputed border between the two countries.
Mr. Modi, who pays
meticulous attention to the symbolic messages of high-level meetings,
immediately made it clear on Sunday with his decision to greet Mr. Obama with
an embrace that his relationship with the United States is a warm and trusting
one. In the past, Mr. Modi has reserved such greetings for leaders who were
trusted partners, like Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and, more recently,
Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia.
A breakthrough on the
nuclear issue would provide both leaders a tangible achievement from the visit.
Mr. Bush reached agreement with India in 2006 to end a decades-long
moratorium on sales of nuclear fuel and reactor components while India in
exchange would separate civilian and military nuclear programs and open
civilian facilities to international inspections.
But the promise of a
thriving new nuclear trade between the powers never materialized because of an
Indian law that would hold American energy companies liable for accidents.
American companies sought more protection, while the Indian government argued
that the American government should pressure the companies to invest anyway.
On climate change, Mr.
Modi has already pledged that India will increase production of clean, solar-powered
electricity to 100,000 megawatts by 2022, from 3,000 currently. The two leaders
are working on an agreement under which the United States would help India cut
its use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs — a component in coolants in
refrigerators and air-conditioners.
Absent a broader
commitment to goals like those agreed to by China, Mr. Obama hopes to enlist
Mr. Modi’s support for a United
Nations climate change
accord scheduled to be completed in Paris in December.
While India is the
third-largest carbon polluter after China and the United States, it has
traditionally argued that it should not have to limit its production of
greenhouse gases because it is a developing country that historically has
contributed little to the long-term problem and has hundreds of millions of
people to lift out of poverty.
If Mr. Modi were to
embrace the Paris process, the Obama administration and environmental groups
have argued that it would be a significant shift that could build momentum for
other countries to join the effort in a serious way. India is expected to issue
a plan to reduce emission rates by June, and environmentalists hope that
domestic backlash against urban pollution will pressure the government to be
more ambitious, much as what happened in China.
Hari Kumar
contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Coral Davenport from Washington.
