'Indo-US relationship yet to reach its full potential'

The India-United States relationship has still not reached its full potential, though the two countries have developed steadily closer ties built on a uniquely strong foundation, according to powerful Senator Richard Lugar, a key supporter of the civil nuclear deal between the two sides. "The remarkable deepening of US-India ties over the past decade is only a start, as the relationship has still not reached its full potential," Lugar, ranking Republican in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.

Writing on a blog, Lugar said as the recent India trip of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demonstrated, these are exciting times for India and for the Indo-US relationship. India has liberalised and opened its economy, unleashing the entrepreneurial talent of its people and using its strong technology base to establish leading positions in such fields as telecommunications, information technology and pharmaceuticals.

"America and India, for too long estranged during the Cold War, have developed steadily closer ties built on a uniquely strong foundation: both countries are stable, multi-ethnic democracies with a deep tradition of religious tolerance," the senator wrote.

With a well-educated middle class that is larger than the entire US population, Lugar wrote India can be an anchor of stability in Asia and a centre of economic growth. "It is already the world's second-fastest growing major economy, and bilateral trade with the US has more than tripled over the past 10 years. I have worked to build a strategic partnership between the United States and India that will benefit both sides as India plays an ever-larger role on the world stage," he said.

Lugar said the recently introduced Startup Visa Act allows an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two-year visa if he or she can show that a qualified US investor is willing to invest in the immigrant's startup venture. "Many of India's smartest and most entrepreneurial individuals are already here studying at our universities, so helping them stay to invest in their ideas would create jobs and help all Americans," he said.

"The bill would also apply to those already in the US on unexpired H-1B visas, and entrepreneurs living outside the United States who already have a market presence. If this legislation is enacted, it will help more Indians take part in the great American tradition of immigrant business success," he added.

Lugar said he shares India's concern on Pakistan. "I believe the US should use its influence to promote stability in the region, which could lead to a Pakistan that is more likely to cooperate and trade with India. That's one of the reasons I co-sponsored the 2009 Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act," he said.

The bill emphasises economic assistance over military aid and contains incentives for Pakistan to stabilise its democracy. It requires the Secretary of State to certify every year that Pakistan is meeting specific benchmarks of conduct, namely, that it is cooperating to dismantle supplier networks of nuclear weapons-related material, that it is making "significant efforts" to combat terrorist and extremist groups and that such groups are not receiving support from Pakistan's military or spy service, and that it is not letting terrorist groups use Pakistan's territory to stage attacks on other countries, Lugar said.

"On that score, the bill specifically mentions Pakistan-based terrorist groups that threaten India as well as the United States and Afghanistan, including the Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which conducted the 2008 Mumbai attack."

The legislation aims to encourage Pakistan to re-orient its armed forces to a mission more focused on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency than regional conflict, and calls for a cut-off of assistance if the security forces are deemed to be "subverting the political or judicial processes of Pakistan." In short, India has much to gain from the success of this legislation, Lugar wrote.