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Inderfurth paints rosy picture of Indo-US relations ahead of Jaswant-Talbott talks

The Clinton administration intends to transform the US-India relationships into a ''true partnership,'' and stay engaged with New Delhi, optimistic of reaching, over time, an understanding on the contentious non-proliferation issue.

Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Karl F Inderfurth, in a speech at the Foreign Policy Association in Washington last night, said, ''The horizons are boundless. We can realistically target increases in trade and investment over the next 10-20 years to reach levels that we may enjoy with China.''

Observers in the US attach considerable significance to the speech because of its timing. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will be in New Delhi next week at the head of a US delegation to begin the eighth round of ''our intensive dialogue'' which began soon after India's nuclear tests in May last.

Inderfurth, who along with Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice-chairman General Joe Ralston will accompany Talbott, said, ''We are making progress in these talks,'' and in support, he quoted their Indian interlocutor Jaswant Singh, now the minister for external affairs, as having stated that the two sides were working very hard to ''harmonise our respective security perspectives.''

At the same time, Inderfurth pointed out, ''We recognise that the issues we are discussing are very difficult, of fundamental importance to all concerned and related to the history of the region that has had more than its share of security concerns.''

He said, ''In many respects, our major challenges in south Asia are not so much about prevention, but management of thresholds that have already been crossed. The most recent, and indeed most dramatic example, of course, the reciprocal nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan eight months ago.''

He, however, said, ''As our relationship matures, our interaction with India will be less prone to misunderstandings and assume a proper equilibrium. We can look forward to a more cooperative and true partnership, which will serve as a health example for others to emulate.

''We can build upon the extraordinary, but little known record of cooperative science between our two countries,'' he added.

Inderfurth said, ''We should pursue a full agenda of collaborative research, especially in life-threatening diseases such as HIV/AIDS, plant biotechnology, civilian space applications and advanced information technology.''

''We can understand to develop agenda for cooperation on environmental protection and development of clean technologies in India,'' he added.

He said he could identify dozens of example of cooperative activities and actions between India and the United States, all of which ''we hope will define our new partnership in the 21st century.''

Inderfurth also acknowledged India's size and influence on the global scene -- in international fora, as a leader and spokesman for the developing world, and as an emerging market.

The state department also made available copies of the speech Talbott gave at Stanford University earlier in which he referred to the situation arising out of the nuclear tests of India and Pakistan.

Talbott said India and Pakistan had formally and overtly demonstrated that they had nuclear weapons. ''In so doing, they made themselves in 1998 even more part of the problem of regional and global proliferation than they were before,'' he added.

''However, they can, in 1999, if they so choose, move back in the direction of being part of the solution -- and they can do that while enhancing their own security at the same time,'' he added.

Talbott said, ''One way they can move back in the right direction in the political sphere is by intensifying contacts and confidence-building measures, including on the issue of Kashmir.''

''But, they can also do it by taking four important steps in the security field: first by adhering to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Second, by making possible a moratorium on the further production of fissile material. Third, by demonstrating prudence and restraint in the development, flight-testing and storage of ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft. And fourth, by strengthening export controls,'' he added.

UNI

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