Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to New Delhi, India this week. India is increasingly seen as a vital ally in the effort to contain China’s expansionist and increasingly militant role. The New York Analysis of Policy and Government provides excerpts from his remarks there.
As I
said in a speech just a few weeks back in Washington, it took our two nations
decades to realize just how far this friendship could go and just how much we
could work together.
But in fact, someone did see what was possible. One of India’s
eminent thinkers, K. Subrahmanyam, co-wrote an essay – this was back in 1995 –
and it began with these lines:
“It is widely understood that the United States is important to
India. It is less well understood how important India is to the long-term
interests of the United States of America.”
I want you all today to know that I understand that, and that America
understands that.
I just had a great opportunity. I finished an excellent set of
meetings with Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, and other
officials. We didn’t just talk about bilateral relations, the
relationship between our two countries, although we spent a fair amount of time
talking on that important topic.
We also talked about what I’ll call a new age of ambition, the new age
of ambition for our two proud nations.
We shouldn’t see each other only through the narrow, bilateral lens, and
I want to talk about that tonight.
We each, India and the United States, should see the world as it is, and
see each other for what we are: great democracies, global powers, and good
friends.
We have the ability to forge a new kind of cooperation that won’t just
be good for us, but for the region, and indeed for the entire world.
That’s what I told your leaders this afternoon. And it’s my
pleasure to share this vision with you here this evening.
Look, we start from a good place – a very good place. We are
blessed that U.S.-India friendship is rooted in a solid foundation. The
rule of law. Respect for human dignity. The importance of civil
society. These ideals, they allow people to flourish. The Indian
people believe in them. And Americans believe in them as well.
We share common historical threads upon which to build. We both
struggled for independence. We both wrote constitutions that begin with
the words “We the People.” And we both protect unalienable rights.
When President Eisenhower, a great Kansan – my home state – when
President Eisenhower visited India in 1959, he said, quote: “Between the first
largest democracy on earth, India, and the second largest, America, lie 10,000
miles of land and ocean. But in our fundamental ideas and convictions
about democracy, we are very close neighbors.” And we ought to be even
closer, end of quote.
I certainly agree with President Eisenhower.
Look, you just proved enormously your commitment to democracy last month
in the largest democratic exercise in the world’s history. It was an
example for the region. Imagine – imagine if every nation had the
vigorous debates and voice that the Indian people just had the opportunity to
express.
And yet in spite of all this, there’s a nagging misconception that our
countries are not able to be full partners – the distrust of an earlier era, I
think, still lingers.
But that’s not true. Just look at what’s already happened.
You’ve made hard choices to cut off oil imports from Iran, and move away
from purchasing Venezuelan oil. We know these decisions weren’t without
cost.
We’re doing everything we can to ensure you have adequate crude
imports. We appreciate your help in pushing these regimes to behave like
normal countries, and the Venezuelans to take care of their people.
You supported the global campaign of pressure and diplomacy with North
Korea, to encourage Chairman Kim to go back to the bargaining table, and
ultimately, to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula.
You’ve joined America, too, for regular meetings between our top defense
and diplomatic leaders.
Your navy recently joined ours, alongside those of Japan and the
Philippines, for a group sail for the first time in the South China Sea.
There, we were able to reinforce our partnership and the freedom of navigation
throughout international waterways.
Recently, too, India voted against giving the United Nations observer
status to a Palestinian NGO tied to terror group Hamas, because rewarding
terror groups is just wrong. Both India and America know that.
You’ve contributed, too, $3 billion in fact, in assistance to
Afghanistan, where we’ll keep working to achieve a better future for the Afghan
people, and we will make sure the country never again becomes a hive for
terrorist evil.
You’ve collaborated – you’ve collaborated with USAID, our aid
institution inside the Department of State, on economic development that ranges
from training farmers in Kenya, to helping women find employment in
Afghanistan, to helping Nepal meet its energy needs.
Your army instructors joined ours earlier just this month here in New
Delhi to train African peacekeepers so they can better defend themselves.
India more and more is standing on the world stage, and we welcome your
assertiveness, because it’s good for the world. It’s why we have for
years supported your permanent seat on the UN Security Council. We’ve
seen what’s possible when we work together for the common good all around the
world.
Best thing is Penegra is offered at affordable cost and prominent like traditional cialis rx . March 2008: Financial difficulties force the newspaper to close commander viagra shop. But yes, according to the doctor buy cialis tablets davidfraymusic.com man with chain smoking will definitely get suffer with sexual concerns such as impotence, incontinence and the need for blood transfusions, as well as a prolonged catheterization and a 4-6 week brain receptor desensitization plan, followed by the “Talk therapy”. Problems attaining or sustaining an erection can be cialis soft 20mg a red flag to you.
I think, too, it’s the moment to think in a different way, to think even
bigger. It’s time for a more ambitious age.
Let’s start with counterterrorism. Just a few weeks ago, Prime
Minister Modi called for all nations to band together to fight terrorism, a
message that aligns with what President Trump told the world leaders two years
ago in Riyadh, on his first international visit. We were pleased to see
the United Nations Sanctions Committee designate Masood Azhar last month.
And from Kandahar to Sri Lanka and beyond, this fight will continue. Our
work together must continue. Can we work even more closely to thwart
terrorism that afflicts South Central Asia?
Then there’s our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region –
a vision which we arrived at independently, but which today we pursue
together. We both seek to uphold national sovereignty, the rule of law,
transparency, good government, and basic freedoms. And we look forward to
working with you in the western Indian Ocean, alongside countries such as
France. Later this year, for the first time ever, the U.S. military will
participate in a tri-service exercise with their Indian counterparts. We
respect your sovereignty, and seek a true partnership. Can we have a more
robust defense relationship grounded in interoperability, with common
platforms, shared doctrines, and new technologies?
Today 60 percent of global maritime trade transits through the
Indo-Pacific. In past weeks, the Islamic Republic of Iran has attacked
tankers from Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In recent years, China has sought dominance in the South China Sea. Can
America and India strategize more comprehensively on how to safeguard free and
open seaways all throughout the world?
And on the economic front, just as we want our governments to
instinctively turn to one another as partners, so we seek the same thing for
our companies. Can we – can we help each other’s private industries
disengage from countries with a weak rule of law and invest in partner nations
eager to house our supply chains and our innovators?
India’s IT sector, it’s more than just a digital miracle – it’s a source
of national pride. I know it; I can see it. Can we work together as
partners, with partners such as Japan, to keep India’s networks – and the 5G
networks of the future ‒ safe and reliable? I’m confident that we
can. Can we come to an agreement that allows data to flow freely among
countries so we don’t balkanize the Internet, make our companies less
competitive, and impede economic growth? I am certain there is a way.
Look, India has a chance to contribute robustly in the energy security
region as well. We want that to happen. Can we work together to
provide clean energy for all of the Indian people? And can we help wean
your industries off reliance on partners that don’t share our common, strategic
set of interests?
One million Indian youth enter the job market every month. There
are trillions of dollars in potential American investment sitting on the sidelines,
waiting to be put to work in the Indo-Pacific region. The table of
prosperity is set. Can India find a new appreciation for the economic
freedom that complements political freedom? I know that we can do this
together.
What about reducing trade barriers between our two great nations?
I’m very confident – I’m very confident – that a solution can be found, one
that will honor President Trump’s call for fair and reciprocal trade and
benefit the citizens of India and the United States alike.
And speaking of the citizenry of our two countries, India is the
birthplace of four major world religions. Let’s stand up, let’s stand up
together in defense of religious freedom for all. Let’s speak out
strongly together in favor of those rights, for whenever we do compromise those
rights, the world is worse off.
And let’s keep, too, the people-to-people ties strong. More than
half a million Indians have studied in the United States since the 1960s, and
they’ve acquired knowledge that benefits India and the world. The very
father of the Indian constitution, some of your most successful business
leaders, and the 2009 winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry all earned
degrees in the United States of America. We want young Indians of today
to thrive, to thrive just in the same way each of those did.
Look, I’ll do my part to grow these ties. I’m personally committed to
regular calls with Minister Jaishankar, to continue the conversations that we
had today. It’s a step forward for our diplomacy, and everything I’ve discussed
today. You have my word that we will continue to work hard on this.
I know too – I know we can go so far together, and we’ve already made
great progress. We’re on the way there. We’ve made significant
progress. But now I must say just after your election, it’s time that
each of us deliver.
I often take my cues from someone that you don’t know. His names
is Charles Vijendra Ghoorah. I call him Chuck. Chuck is a
decades-long friend of mine. We worked together about 25 years ago.
We’ve stayed close friends ever since.
He has three degrees. He is a wildly successful businessman, and
his parents still give him a hard time because he didn’t become a doctor.
Chuck represents the greatness of your nation. I’ve seen it.
And Chuck’s been good to me. He’s been good to Susan and I.
He’s helped me understand India in ways that I might not otherwise have had the
chance to do. I’ve always tried to be good to him too. And as you
all know, I got a chance to return a favor back in 2016. I was a member
of Congress when Prime Minister Modi came to Washington, D.C. and he spoke at
our Congress on Capitol Hill. Few leaders around the world get a chance
to do that. I very much wanted to the chance to hear – Chuck, but I knew
how much it meant to Chuck to be there, and so I gave him my ticket. It
was amazing. All he wanted was to be in the same room with this great
leader who he knew could make things better for both the Indian people and the
people of the United States of America.
I want you all to know that I share Chuck’s view that we can accomplish
this. Right now we have an absolute perfect chance, a perfect chance to
go even further than many have dreamed.
Right now we have two leaders in President Trump and Prime Minister Modi
who aren’t afraid to blaze great trails and aren’t afraid to take risks where
they’re appropriate.
Right now we’re poised to do truly incredible things for our own people,
for the region, and for the world.
Let’s see each other with new eyes and embrace the age of ambition.
May God bless you. Hail India. And God bless the United
States of America.
DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.
Illustration: Pixabay
