'Symbolically, Dr Singh's US visit is huge'

If some leading policy wonks argue that the first official state visit in the Obama administration by Dr Manmohan Singh is largely symbolic and does not for a strategic relationship make, Robert Hathaway, director of the Asia Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, says the symbolism sends a loud and clear message that US is looking toward a sustainable long-term partnership with India.

Hathaway, who was a senior Congressional staffer for over two decades, being the key policy aide to the erstwhile chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Lee Hamilton and before that to former Congressman Stephen J Solarz, who headed up the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and Pacific--which has jurisdiction over South Asian affairs—told rediff.com, "I see this visit not so much in terms of tangibles or in terms of deliverables, but in terms of its symbolism."

"This will be the first official state visit of the Obama presidency," he reminded, and argued, "you might think that the British prime minister would receive this honor, or you might think that some of our other close and long-term friends and allies in Asia or Middle East or elsewhere, could have received this honor."

But, Hathaway, whose organisation along with the Council on Foreign Relations will host 'A Conversation with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh' on the first day of his official three-day visit, said, "The fact that Dr Singh and India were chosen for this first visit, sends a loud and clear message that this Administration is serious when it talks about creating a sustainable, long-term partnership between our two countries."

"A partnership that encompasses not only economics, but security dimensions, and all the scientific, technological, energy, and all of the components that go into fashioning of a truly meaningful partnership."

Thus, Hathaway said this is "really what we should be focusing on," instead of getting hung-up on whether there will be any major agreements signed to lend substantive gravitas to the visit, which will necessarily be replete with all of the pomp and pageantry, including the first White House banquet in the Obama Administration, hosted by the President and First Lady Michelle Obama.

He acknowledged that "there will certainly be some agreements signed and other things, but if you are in the process of creating a mature relationship between two countries, you cannot always have huge agreements every time the two leaders get together."

"So, I really would emphasize the symbolic importance of this trip and the fact that of the 190-some countries in the world that would have liked to have been chosen for the first state visit, the President of the United States said this is a honor that I want to give to India-- that to me, is the bottom line in this visit."

Hathaway said there was no denying that Pakistan and Afghanistan are huge issues for President Obama "and for a different set of reasons," and it is inevitable that a discussion of Pakistan is on the cards".

But, he argued that such a discussion in no way is an indication that the zero-sum game vis-à-vis US policy to South Asia that brackets India and Pakistan continues to haunt US-India ties.

Hathaway said that in the current context of what's happening in both countries, "Pakistan is a very important issue for India as well, and Afghanistan as almost important."

"But the Indians have been telling me for over 20 years when I go there, don't think of us in terms of a single entity called Indo-Pakistan. Regard us as an important country in our own right. And, Americans have gotten that message."

Hathaway said, this state visit clearly showed that India, now vis-à-vis the US perception, was in a totally different league as a global leader to be coveted and given pride of place.

He conceded that "of course, Afghanistan and Pakistan will figure in the discussions, but our interests with India--and the reason for the United States wanting to have a genuine partnership with India-- are so much broader than simply Afghanistan or Pakistan."

Thus, Hathaway predicted that "I would expect just as much talk in a variety of other issues, including climate change, the continuing economic and financial crisis, the Doha Round and a whole set of issues."

"We are still in a hugely destabilizing financial and economic crisis right now and it impacts Americans every day, and it's impacting India less so. But, it's a huge issue for both countries," he said.

Hathaway, who was the key policy adviser on China to both Hamilton and Solarz at the time he was working in the US Congress, predicted there would be a best only peripheral discussion of China, notwithstanding Beijing's recent muscle flexing and elbow diplomacy against India.

He said that India has made it apparent that it doesn't want to be viewed in the US either some kind of counterweight to China or how it compares to China as an Asian power in the eyes of the US, and consequently have this factor in to the US-India equation.

"So, don't expect much discussion on China," Hathaway, said, except for some general and passing remarks by Obama of his visit to East Asia for the APEC Summit, which also included a trip to Beijing.