The relationship between Bharat and US
has moved in a positive direction ranging from trade to defence and the two
nations have shown a sense of deep understating of each other’s differences, said
the top Bharat-centric business and strategic group head.
US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum
(USISPF) CEO Mukesh Aghi said there is more alignment between the two nations when
it is looked at from the geopolitical QUAD perspective.
Aghi is a key player in Bharat’s relationship
with US for more than a decade now.
Citing expansion of trade, the military
exercises, Aghi said, “We have signed a lot of agreements with US, especially
in defence and space. We have agreed to repair the ships in our ports. When you
look at it from the geopolitical QUAD perspective, there’s more alignment
between the two countries.”
He termed 2023 as “a year of highlights
between two countries” and noted “both countries have settled down” in terms of
maturity, deep understanding of each other’s differences.
Asserting that there’s a way to manage
the differences and respect each other’s position from that perspective, Aghi agreed
it is important to probe what happened in Canada, what has been filed in the
southern district in New York City.
But that should not and would not derail
the overall trajectory and momentum of the partnership between two countries,
he said.
Aghi shared, “Bharat has set up a
higher-level committee to investigate because that’s not the policy to go
assassinate (people in foreign land). I believe they will sort it out.”
“In the case of Canada, there was a lack
of maturity on the part of (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau to go to Parliament
and make that announcement or make allegations. I think the Americans have done
a better job of trying to share the data, find a consensus and take it forward.
So, I believe that those two issues will not have an impact on the relationship,
both in the short and the long term,” added Aghi.
US President Joe Biden, he said, has put
a lot of solid effort, energy, and strong policy behind the QUAD effort.
The Quad bloc groups Bharat, Australia,
Japan and US, which oversees overall cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The recently concluded Assembly
elections, he noted, sent a message that Bharat is a vibrant democracy and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will come back again in the Lok Sabha elections next
year.
The US companies are investing more and
more in Bharat. They are exploring how to de-risk from China, to gather the
growing market and capture the market share itself. Both from a de-risking
perspective and market opportunity, US companies are spending more and more in Bharat
to be able to position themselves in the medium and long term, he said.
PTI
