US-India Relations To Mark Century
After visiting museums and colleges in Mumbai it was time for president Barack Obama to get serious during his three-days tour in India. The president of the United States went to Dehli, where he received a ceremonial welcome at the Indian president’s palace and laid a wreath at a memorial to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. Later on he had a private meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and afterwards he will address a speech to the joint session of the Indian Parliament. ”The relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century,” Obama said at the end of his meeting with Singh, the two leaders having discussed issues such as the situation in Eastern Asia, the co-operation between the two countries or the problems both have in Pakistan.
During a joint news conference with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, president Obama reaffirmed that India became a world power rather than being an emerging country and said that the two countries could work together to promote stability and prosperity. He also talked about a ”growing trust” between two of the worldʼs largest democracies in terms of trade and mentioned the opportunities for cooperation between India and the United States. Obama reminded that India has a growing market which could represent a solution for American products and said that economic exchanges offer both Indian an US companies a solution for the crisis, giving the solar tehnology as an example for the potential to creat jobs in both countries. Besides economic issues, Barack Obama also announced an initiative between US and India to improve security at airports, ports and borders in a common effort to stop terrorism. And he did not forget to thank Indiaʼs military support to the war in Afghanistan and its efforts to put an end to terrorism.
As for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he reminded that India still has to develop its infrastructure and, in order to do so, it need investements of over $1 trillion, a huge sum he hopes United States will contribute to. He also praised the American tehnology, saying that India needs US know-how in the civilian as well as military fields. The two leaders came at a delicate moment when speaking about the situation in Kashmir and the tense relationship between India and Pakistan. President Obama said that India and Pakistan must find a way to resolve the the problems in the Himalayan border region and names prime minister Singh as sincere and relentless in his desire for peace. On the other hand, the Indian prime minister reaffirmed his wish to put an end to the tensions between the two neighboring countries, but he said that the regime in Islamabad must move away from his terror-induced coercion.
After his meeting with Prime Minister Singh president Barack Obama is expected to address a speech to the joint session of the Indian Parliament. And the main subject of the speech is the support United States might give India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. India has been seeking for a long time a seat on the council, saying it would better reflect its growing power, with its trillion dollar economy stimulating global wealth and its government influencing issues from trade to climate change. But US support for India is expected to trigger a harsh response from China, who would encourage some its friends to vote against such a measure.
Today is presidentʼs Barack Obama last day in India. During his ten-days tour in Asia he is also due to visit Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. And his next stop is the country where he grew up, Indonesia, where he is expected to finalize a comprehensive partnership between the two nations. But it looks like it is not going to be an easy visit for Obama, as muslims staged protests against him on Sunday. The protest were organized by the Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir and it is said that women and children also took part at the rallies. According to the Ismail Yusanto, a spokesman for the group, there is no difference between Obama and Bush, as both have oppressed Muslims and their hands are stained with blood, reffering to the US troops who are with war with Muslims.
With nearly 205 million Muslims, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. More than one out of ten of the world’s Muslims live here. Although it is reputed to host a relatively tolerant and moderate Islam, Indonesia has a series of government restrictions relating to religion and social tensions are rising here. Obama is expected to arrive to Jakarta on Tuesday. President Barack Obama lived in the Menteng district of Jakarta between 1967 and 1971, with his mother and Indonesian stepfather. Indonesians have already released a movie, ” Obama The Menteng Kid”, showing the four years that Obama spent in Indonesia.
