Even as he looks forward to working with India’s incoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, overcoming the hiccups caused by Washington’s own decade-long boycott of the BJP leader, US President Barack Obama has in a letter to outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lauded him for his role in strengthening the India-US strategic partnership.
Interestingly, the Obama has been released to the media not by the White House but by the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi. Over the weekend, the White House had put out a brief readout of Obama’s telephone call to Singh, but not the subsequent letter, which is in reply to a letter that Singh himself had written to the US President.
“While it was a pleasure to talk to you on the phone, I wanted to respond to your thoughtful letter and put in writing my deep appreciation for your remarkable two terms in office. I have tremendous gratitude for the critical role you have played in defining and expanding the strategic partnership between India and the United States,” according to excerpts of Obama’s letter put out on the PMO website.
“With boldness and vision, during your 10 years in office, you challenged our two nations to deepen our defense ties, engage in civil nuclear commerce, expand trade, and collaborate on clean energy technology while working through our differences,” says the Obama letter.The letter goes on to praise Singh’s leadership that “helped strengthen a strategic relationship that will have a long-lasting impact on our citizens and is already making the world a safer, more prosperous place”. It speaks of the two joining together to fight terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and promote peace in Afghanistan.
“We also embarked on substantive, strategic exchanges that have helped shape our shared views of global developments, allowing us to coordinate and respond more effectively to breaking events,” the Obama letter says, adding how he, even before he became President, “greatly admired your dedication to alleviate India’s poverty, primarily through economic reforms”.
On May 17, Obama made a farewell phone call to Singh hours after he demitted office following the electoral rout of the Congress-led UPA. Here, too, the White House readout of the call was brief and matter-of-fact, while the version of it released by the PMO contains the laudatory references to Singh.
The White House version of the readout said: “The President called outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today to express his gratitude for Dr Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister and his critical role in transforming and deepening the US-India strategic partnership and our cooperation on global challenges. The President conveyed his appreciation for Dr. Singh’s friendship, noting that he looked forward to further expanding the strong relationship between the United States and India with Prime Minister-Elect Narendra Modi.”
Meanwhile, the Obama administration States has announced that it has named a senior diplomat as a standby at its New Delhi mission in place of the outgoing US Ambassador Nancy Powell. Kathleen Stephens, a former US Ambassador to South Korea, will arrive in New Delhi in early June and hold the charge till the administration names a new Ambassador and gets the nomination approved by the US Senate.
Powell is set to leave New Delhi on Thursday, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said, adding: “Powell departs India with the deep appreciation of the administration and the State Department for her outstanding work as ambassador to India.” Psaki could not provide a timeline on the appointment of a new, full-fledged Ambassador.
The version put out by the PMO quoted Obama as having said: “It has been a great pleasure to serve with you, there are very few people in public life that I have admired or appreciated more.” It quotes Obama as having said further that “the Prime Minister’s tenure has been good for India and Indo-US relations and that he would miss working with Dr. Singh”.
Singh, in turn, commended Obama’s “commitment, vision and leadership”, telling him: “Your leadership has been an important factor in evolving a more cooperative framework in addressing global challenges.” Singh, according to the PMO version, expressed optimism that the next government in New Delhi would do everything to promote the India-US relationship further.