U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue

Q1: What is the purpose of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue?

A1: The U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue was launched a year ago by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to serve as the capstone dialogue between the United States and India. The purpose of the dialogue is to assess progress, provide policy guidance, and propose new areas of cooperation across the breadth of the U.S.-India relationship. This year’s dialogue will be held in New Delhi on July 19 and will be led by Secretary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna of India.

Q2: What impact will the Mumbai attacks this past week have on the Strategic Dialogue?

A2: Shortly after the attacks on July 13, Secretary Clinton reiterated her commitment to travel to India as planned. The terrorist attacks will certainly make counterterrorism and homeland security a prominent topic of discussion during the meeting. Bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism and homeland security has deepened over the past couple of years with the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative and the inaugural Homeland Security Dialogue that was held this past May in New Delhi, with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano heading the U.S. delegation. Both initiatives will encourage cooperation in a wide variety of areas to include intelligence sharing, investigations, forensics, coastal security, civil aviation security, urban policing, cyber security, and infrastructure protection.

Q3: What happened at the last U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue?


A3: The first U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue was convened in Washington, D.C., from June 1–4, 2010. Secretary Clinton and Minister Krishna led the delegations. President Barack Obama attended the official reception, demonstrating the high priority he places on this relationship. The joint statement issued after the dialogue emphasized the broad shared interests of the two nations, particularly in the fields of counterterrorism, regional security, nonproliferation, and trade. Perhaps most significantly, the dialogue set the stage for President Obama’s visit to India, which was seen by both sides as a key step forward in U.S.-India relations. However, in the months since the trip, the momentum of the relationship has abated somewhat as Washington and New Delhi have been preoccupied by other concerns, both domestic and foreign. This week’s Strategic Dialogue is an opportunity to regain focus on implementing the variety of initiatives between the two sides.

Q4: What are the key issues that might be discussed at the Strategic Dialogue?

A4: Aside from counterterrorism and homeland security, there are a number of key areas that may come up for discussion. India will be keen to discuss Afghanistan after President Obama’s speech announcing troop withdrawals in 2012 and 2014. The Indians will be interested in Washington’s assessment of the war in Afghanistan, to include reconciliation, training of the Afghan National Security Forces, and progress in the fight against the Taliban. Pakistan and the current downward trajectory of U.S.-Pakistan relations could also be a significant topic of conversation. During the discussion, Secretary Clinton will likely restate her strong support for the resumption by India and Pakistan of their formal dialogue and encourage them to work in that same spirit to support a political process in Afghanistan. The foreign ministers of the two countries will meet in New Delhi at the end of the month.
The stalled U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal will be another major topic of discussion. In addition to the nuclear liability legislation passed by the Indian parliament last year, another complication emerged last month during the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting in the Netherlands. During the meeting, NSG members adopted new, more restrictive measures regarding enrichment and reprocessing equipment and technology exports to states that have not signed or are not in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). While the U.S. maintains that the “clean waiver” for India adopted by the NSG in 2008 is still intact, there will undoubtedly be much discussion about the implication these new NSG rules might have on India’s ability to conduct nuclear commerce.

Finally, it is likely that the two sides will devote some time to comparing notes on China, including on that country’s recent behavior with respect to the South China Sea. The United States and India have much to discuss about China’s rise—in the economic, political, and military spheres—and its implications for the region and on the global stage.

Q5: Economic ties are a central part of the U.S.-India relationship. Will the Strategic Dialogue get into that?

A5: After concluding the dialogue, Secretary Clinton will travel to Chennai, which is becoming a growing destination for U.S. investment. Major American manufacturers Ford and Caterpillar have established factories in Chennai as the United States hopes for greater inroads into the Indian market, to include multi-brand retail. On July 22, the Indian Committee of Secretaries will meet to decide on opening India’s multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment. A decision to open up this sector could herald great opportunities for U.S. companies in India. Overall trends in bilateral trade have been positive over the past year, with 30 percent growth from 2009 to 2010. It is hoped that Secretary Clinton’s stop in Chennai will make progress toward sustaining that growth.

S. Amer Latif is a visiting fellow with the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Rajan Narang is an intern with the CSIS Wadhwani Chair.

Critical Questions is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

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S. Amer Latif and Rajan Narang