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The time is now, Modi says about India-US ties
PM Modi addressed the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington, urging stakeholders to invest in the relationship and in India, which he said could change the world in the 21st century. He also highlighted India's domestic transformation, robust economic indicators post-pandemic, and enhanced foreign direct investment, saying that India's success provided opportunities for other players and would open doors for America. Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in the event and said the bilateral relationship was "closer, broader and more dynamic" than ever before.
Washington: The India-America partnership is one of conviction, not of convenience; it can change the world in the 21st century; and the “time was now” for all stakeholders to invest in the relationship and in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
Modi was speaking at the Kennedy Centre in Washington at an event organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), an organisation led by Mukesh Aghi, and attended by Indian-American professionals from a range of diverse fields on Friday evening. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, too, participated in the event, and said the bilateral relationship was “closer, broader and more dynamic” than it had ever been.
Soon after attending a lunch hosted by vice president Kamala Harris and Blinken at the State Department and meeting top American corporate leaders — Modi met the chief executive officers of Google (Sundar Pichai), Boeing (David Calhoun) and Amazon (Andrew Jassy) — Modi came to the Kennedy Centre, a landmark site in DC, to address members of the diaspora who had risen up in their fields. And he left them with a message of optimism and hope, but also urged them to continue playing their role in deepening the ties.
The PM began by telling the diaspora that they had been an integral part of America’s development journey. “You are a part of the American dream. You have lived the American dream.” Saying that what had given him the most confidence through all his interactions, with President Joe Biden, CEOs, political figures, was a shared commitment to deepen ties. “I am saying with full confidence that this partnership is not one of convenience. It is a partnership of conviction..of shared commitment. And you are the basis of this.”
Modi pointed out that there was “unprecedented bipartisan support” for the relationship, as witnessed in his address to the US Congress on Thursday. “My belief has deepened that our partnership can change the world’s future in the 21st century.”
Modi then focused on what he saw as the domestic transformation in India as it marked 75 years of Independence and people committed to becoming a “developed India”. “We are finding permanent solutions to problems…we challenge challenges.”
He spoke about ease of living for the poor, the ease of doing business, India’s jump from being the tenth to the fifth largest economy in the world on the way to becoming the third-largest, robust economic indicators post the pandemic, enhanced foreign direct investment including from America, “unprecedented reforms”, India’s young population, and its skilled workforce.
“The foundation and the driving force of India’s success is the aspiration of its citizens. And it’s not that different from the American dream,” Modi said, pointing to a spike in private expansion, the ending of extreme poverty, and the expansion of the neo-middle class and the middle class.
This is what, Modi said, provided an opportunity to other players and will open doors for America. If aviation demand was increasing, aircraft orders were helping American companies benefit and creating jobs in the US. If the India-US defence relationship was deepening — thanks to Biden’s “farsightedness” — it was helping each state in the US. If Indian companies were growing and investing in the US, it was helping Americans.
“We are moving ahead as the most reliable partners. And you have to take advantage of it. India’s development can help the American dream. There are many possibilities for you. Take the first and fast mover advantage,” Modi told the audience, many of whom were wealthy business leaders and investors as he told them that the governments had prepared the ground. “Come and play on the ground and rise. Those who play will rise. And I am sure you will not leave this opportunity.”
The PM said that any country which joined India at this moment will benefit, for in India, a new university was opening every week, a college every two days, an Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management every year. “This is the time. It is the right time.”
