India-U.S. bilateral relations have developed into a “global strategic partnership”, based on shared democratic values and increasing convergence of interests on bilateral, regional and global issues. Relations between the countries have improved considerably over the last 15 years, having been fraught with mistrust and tension during the Cold War. The bilateral relationship underwent a significant transformation when the US first agreed to ‘work to achieve full civil nuclear energy cooperation’ with India in July 2005.

Today, the desire to counter China’s role in the Indo-Pacific is an area of increasing strategic convergence for the countries. A state visit to India by Trump in late February 2020 was symbolic of an enhanced bilateral partnership and the importance of defence cooperation within it; so much so that there was rampant speculation in India that its pandemic lockdown was deferred by a few days in order to accommodate the visit.

The panel discussion brings in a range of voices, including from the mainstream of the Republican Party in the US, including Oz Sultan, the Indian-Muslim origin Republican candidate for Senate in Harlem. This session is part of an ongoing series from Bridge India looking at Indian public policy from the lens of a post-pandemic world. In the context of the Indo-US relationship, this will focus on a range of issues, including Indian visas in the US, access to the Indian market for US companies as well as what Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat means for a more export-focused Trump trade doctrine.

Speakers:

Oz Sultan, Candidate for Senate, Harlem (New York)
Aparna Pande, Director, Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia, Hudson Institute
Salil Tripathi, Writer at Mint and Caravan
Sanjay Suri, Europe Correspondent, Network 18 group (Moderator)