Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States from June 21-23
By Aman Sinha: There is a visible anticipation and excitement in echelons of Washington DC regarding Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the USA as my American Lawyer colleague told me over a cup of coffee that Modi’s visit will be “awesome” for India-US partnership and also for global common good!
The enthusiasm and excitement in Indian diaspora is unprecedented as thousands of Indian-Americans joined unity March in more than twenty top cities of USA over this weekend to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi and express their admiration for new found status of India as the emerging global leader due to transformational changes ushered in PM Modi’s leadership which has made India the fastest growing global economy.
PM Modi’s visit will lay the foundation for one of the biggest economic and strategic partnerships of the century that will have a significant global impact. This partnership has to be seen specifically in the context that the bilateral goods and services trade between India and USA has almost doubled since 2014, exceeding 200 billion USD and today USA is the biggest trading partner of India.
The prowess of the Indian economy can be gauged from the fact that all the leading international investors and analysts are optimistic about India’s growth trajectory. The Economist said has stated that India would comfortably attain the target of becoming a five trillion economy and our spending on infrastructure is already twice that of the western world. International Monetary Fund(IMF) sees India as a bright spot in the global economy. The World Bank says that India is in a better position to deal with global headwinds than many other countries. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said that India will be among the fastest-growing economies in the G-20 group this year. According to Morgan Stanley, India is moving towards becoming the world’s third largest economy in the next 4-5 years. The CEO of McKinsey has said that this is not only India’s decade but India’s century. Institutions and credible voices that track the global economy have unprecedented confidence in India and that has gone a long way in strengthening the India-US relationship.
The Indian economy has prospered and at the same time in the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family) even amidst the Covid pandemic, India was not only addressing the domestic Covid situation but helping internationally through vaccine maître project reflecting the true Indian spirit. India has already exported more than 180 million vaccines to around 100 countries and UN agencies to support the global fight back against the pandemic. There is immense admiration for this Indian spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam in American society and a few US lawmakers in their interactions with me also heartily appreciated this Indian spirit. When Covid-19 struck the world, India and the US were two Countries which went out of their way to help the global community during this pandemic crisis. This is a true reflection of the fact how India has emerged as the force of global good as aptly stated by Prime Minster Modi himself a few weeks back.
There is wide acknowledgement of the fact the primary reason for surging Indian economy and India becoming growth engine for the world is the way PM Modi has been able to reform, perform and transform through his policy measures and legal reforms. Prime Minister Modi on his own initiative has got 1500 laws repealed and 40,000 compliances junked. This has not only greatly enhanced the ease of doing business but ease of living for Indians. This is one of the biggest transformational legal and economic reforms of contemporary times. No other country in the world would have repealed and abolished so many redundant laws and compliances as India has done in a span of only nine years. In additional new progressive laws conducive to enhancing the ease of living and ease of business have been enacted.
India rising to the fifth biggest global economy and fastest growing economy firmly on track to be third big global economy has happened not by coincidence it’s a result of structural, institutional, reforms and the decisive and visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi. PM Modi has addressed the fundamental problems of Indian economy and Indian society which were languishing for a long time and today every citizen has electricity, clean water, healthcare, gas, housing, food and bank account which has unleashed the potential and aspirations of each and every Indian citizen. This has led to an organic and structural growth of Indian economy and Indian society and now we are seeing a multiplier effect of all these far sighted visionary measures undertaken by PM Modi and this momentum is going to stay as India becomes the third biggest economy in the world in next 3 years.
There are several areas with immense potential where mutually beneficial partnerships could be considered such as in defense and industrial cooperation that co-develops and co-produces important defense capabilities. Strategic Technology Partnership on critical emerging technologies in defence, space semiconductors, advanced telecommunications biotechnology, emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence to name a few. The issue of increase in number of visas to Indian students and professionals may also be considered.
Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, India has not only become an economic power but has also become the ‘Most Reliable Country’ in the world. More importantly, it is a country with whom you can not only do business but can have a sustainable friendship based on the civilizational values that consider this world to be part of one larger family where countries join hands to meet the global challenges.PM Modi’s visit to US is also much anticipated in this context.
India and the US are natural partners. India US relationship has become a successful and enduring relationship which has withstood the test of time and regime changes in the USA. It is the profound and charismatic leadership of PM Narendra Modi which has made this relationship prosper at an unparalleled pace irrespective of regime changes in the USA. And it seems that the strong bond between India-US will become a global game changer after this visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States of America.
(Disclaimer: The author, Aman Sinha, is a Senior Advocate Practising in the Supreme Court of India. He is currently visiting the United States. All views are personal)