The Hindu Business Line : Kamal Nath lists 5 milestones to boost Indo-US partnership

THE last 14 years have witnessed a sea change not only in the world's perceptions of India, but also in India's perceptions about itself. "The world has acknowledged the `arrival of India.' We no longer discuss the future of India: we say the future is India," remarked the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath.

Delivering the keynote address at the 30th Anniversary Jubilee Celebrations of the United States India Business Council here, Mr Kamal Nath pointed out that times and circumstances change and with these, policies as well. "A decade and a half ago, the prospect of India becoming a major player in the global economy seemed a distant dream, only a theoretical possibility. During the last 14 years, there has been a sea change not only in the world's perception about India's future, but in our own perception about ourselves," the Minister said.

Stressing that India is too complex a concept to be encompassed in trite phrases, Mr Kamal Nath said that he would characterise the Indian economy of today in three adjectives — fastest-growing, free market, democracy. "These adjectives have been chosen by us with deliberation and thought. To us, each phrase represents an important and fundamental truth about our economy, our people, our culture, our values and indeed, our very ethos," the Minister remarked.

Maintaining that he did not like comparisons with China, as comparisons are always "invidious," Mr Kamal Nath talked about the unique strengths of India, including those on the institutional front that the country is proud about. "What is more important is that India has an open system with social and political safety valves and a regulatory environment that provides comfort, long-term stability and security to the foreign investor," he said.

Reflecting on what it is going to be thirty years down the road, Mr Kamal Nath said that 2035 will demonstrate a vastly "different landscape" with India engaging in a number of regional trade agreements not only with her SAARC neighbours, but also with South East Asia; making inroads in trade with China. By that time, the Minister expressed confidence that not only would the country have achieved 100 per cent literacy, but would also have a standard of living that would be comparable to at least what the developed world enjoys today.

The Union Minister said that to get to common ground over a 30-year landscape, he envisioned five milestones marking a broader and deeper India-US partnership, the first of which being the nature of the bilateral engagement itself. "The Indo-US relationship will be a strategic partnership, covering not just international peace and security, but under-pinning this with close trade and commercial ties."

Second is that of an enabling environment, where in the years to come, India will become a knowledge hub, which will serve future workers in ways presently unimaginable through a convergence of technologies.

The third is the building of stronger physical and virtual networks, underscored by technology transfer and technology exchange.

Fourth, integrating the markets where the imperative down the line would be on the need to develop innovative and creative ideas for rapidly expanding bilateral trade.

Finally, Mr Kamal Nath stressed on nurturing shared values: "A strong sense of what is right and an even stronger sense of what isn't...What are already today the world's strongest democracy and the world's largest democracy would have to enhance their engagement based on their values, respect for the individual, free speech and liberty."

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