Denying that there is any pause in bilateral ties, a top Obama Administration official said the relationship between India and US would continue to grow, refuting reports that the civil-nuke agreement between the two countries is in limbo.
“I don’t think we have a pause at all. I think that we’re continuing to move forward over the next six months,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said. “I know we have energy dialogue slated for early next year. So like I said, I don’t think that there’s any pause. I think everything is moving forward apace,” she said in response to a question. “I think that the relationship will continue to strengthen and deepen and grow. I think that increasingly, it’s not just a bilateral relationship but it is a regional and global relationship,” Biswal said.
Support for US’ global engagement has hit a historic low, but the reticence is not an expression of across-the-board isolationism, according to a new poll by Pew Research centre in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). A record 52% surveyed said “the US should mind its own business internationally,” the highest recorded response in 50 years and up from 30 per cent just a decade ago. When asked to name countries are more important US allies in the future, more CFR members name India (37%) and China (34% ). But far fewer see these countries as key future allies than did so 4 years ago (55% India, 58% China).