After the recent unseemly diplomatic spat, the United States has signalled its keenness to move its ties with India forward, asserting: “The bottom line is that this partnership is broad and it is strong.”
At a reception hosted by Indian Ambassador S Jaishankar in connection with the Republic Day celebrations, US Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom spoke of “a broad range of joint efforts and shared interests that keep propelling us forward”. Higginbottom, however, made no reference to the bitter month-long feud over the Devyani episode or the still-unresolved aspects of the diplomatic row, be it the continuing case against Khobragade in a US court or India’s reciprocal actions targeting US diplomatic privileges in the country.
“On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to be here at this beautiful residence to celebrate India’s 65th Republic Day,” said Higginbottom, telling a select audience: “On this icy winter day, I want to extend a very warm welcome to all of you.”
Also present on the occasion was US State Department’s recently-appointed point-person for South Asia, Assistant Secretary Nisha Desai Biswal, whose India trip last month had to be put off indefinitely because of the spat. Higgibottom spoke effusively about India’s democratic institutions and traditions, and “the strength of the ties between our people and our Governments”.
She made a pointed reference to the rise in India-US bilateral trade to $100 billion annually, and touched upon some of the key areas of cooperation, including homeland security, health, education, space research, climate and energy. She also dwelt on partnership extending beyond bilateral matters to important global issues and regional dialogues.
Referring to Ambassador Jaishankar’s key role in negotiating the India-US civil nuclear deal during his earlier tenure as Joint Secretary (Americas), Higginbottom said: “He already has a very long and distinguished history of strengthening the partnership between our two nations. I look forward to working together with him to continue those efforts.”
At the State Department, deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid held talks on a wide range of issues at Montreux, Switzerland on the sidelines of the Geneva II deliberations over Syria.
Asked if they discussed the Khobragade issue, Harf remarked: “I would assume that it was, but I am not positive about all the details.” “I think the fact that the Secretary sat down with his counterpart to discuss the whole range of issues we deal with India on is a sign that the relationship is moving forward and that we have a lot of work to do,” Harf said, adding: “We’ll keep having discussions with the Indian Government when they raise them, but we are very focused on moving the relationship forward.”