The world’s two largest democracies, The United States and India, are trying to build something that has never been created before: A partnership between two multi-trillion-dollar economies that respects each other’s sovereignty and promotes mutual interests.
To be sustainable, this relationship must build on the cold rationality of geopolitical balancing and hopes for shared growth and profit. Disagreements over trade, technology, and strategic autonomy are natural under such circumstances; but tremendous political will and strategic courage has ensured that the two sides have nevertheless reforged a workable framework for the relationship. If the two manage to overcome their differences, it would be the first instance of a great power relationship between two countries of such size and aspiration.
This panel examines the state of the Indo-US relationship today and reconcile competing visions for its future, amid New Delhi’s continuing search for autonomy and Washington’s impatience with special treatment. What is DC’s assessment of India’s importance in its geo-strategic journey? Are the tensions of the past year purely due to the specific circumstances of this economic moment – or do they reflect the resolution of a broader contradiction ignored by previous administrations? As India has become more multi-aligned, America has become more transactional. Do these two approaches to the world align? As global geopolitics moves from managed collaboration to great-power rivalries, how can the US-India relationship remain a stabilising influence for the world?
Speakers:
- Indrani Bagchi, Chief Executive Officer, Ananta Centre, India
- Kaush Arha, President, Free & Open Indo-Pacific Forum, United States of America
- K P Vijayalakshmi, Head, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
- Mathhew Foldi, Editor-in-Chief, Washington Reporter, United States of America
- Nisha Biswal, Partner, The Asia Group, United States of America
Moderator: Lisa Singh, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Australia India Institute, Australia