India is the flavour of the month: Mulford
by Smita Prakash

      New Delhi: India has been top priority for US President George W Bush from his very first term (2000-2004) and he is looking forward to his trip to this region this week, said US Ambassador to India, David C. Mulford in an interview to ANI news agency in New Delhi on Monday. On the civilian nuclear issue, Ambassador Mulford admitted that it had taken the spotlight in Indo-US relations.

    "The nuclear issue was a very important issue but its just one among many. It took the spotlight in the media after the July visit (of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh) to the White House. But it has been a focus of a very considerable activity over the period since. In the last few weeks, there have been a series of meetings and negotiations. The negotiating activity has been very positive and very friendly. It's a very complicated area for both countries in breaking new ground, it takes time, it takes focus and the progress has continued and we are hoping that we can reach an agreement by the time of the President's visit, and every effort is being made to do so. But if we don't, we will continue to negotiate further," Mulford said. When asked to comment on the allegation that the United States was changing its goal posts on the deal, Ambassador Mulford said: "Well there has been conversations that have been touched on every element of the civil nuclear deal as you might imagine. So, I can't comment on the details of the negotations. I have said the negotiations is a very complex negotiation, nuclear energy is a complex field and on both sides there are a whole host of complex issues actually engaged in something which is changing the world architecture in the non-proliferation area though obviously when you have 35 nuclear supplier group countries which involves the US Congress, India and its scientific community and its political community its a very complex issue that we are touching we are touching many different issues."

      Whether President Bush had the support of his administration and the Congress by and large in steering the new course of US-India relationship may be a matter of opinion in India, but in the US, it is there, said Ambassador Mulford. The President "has a very broad based support for India and India-US relationship in the Congress" due to the effort of the caucuses in both the House and the Senate. And since the caucuses have members of both political parties, it is safe to presume that the support the President has, is bipartisan. Mulford also said that not just in the traditional East Coast media, but right across the United States there is a growing interest in India. "The whole nation has begun to focus on India and the rising U.S.-India relationship. There is the US India people to people relationship in every area and much evidence in the US by the large number and huge success of the US Indian population. There is also the huge flow of people moving back and forth. Indians to the US and Americans here business people, investors and so on and this is something that has come to the notice of the media. India if anything is the flavor of the month in the U.S. media," he said.

      On whether Kashmir would figure in the talks between President Bush and Prime Minister Singh, the Ambassador was non-committal, but he did say that there is no change in U.S. perception or policy on Kashmir. "He (President Bush) has indicated that there is no change in the U.S. policy and he has encouraged all parties to move forward in peace initiatives and make progress and so on," Mulford said. The Ambassador repeated that the US sees the two relationships as dynamic in their own right. "The important part is that the way the President sees the relationship as a free standing relationship between US and India on vision of the future, it is developing on the direction and he himself said recently that we have an important relationship with each country we are not in a position of looking through the prism of each country's relationship with the US, each relationship has its own unique value. "Yes I do, There is a recognition that this is a unique relationship between two huge democracies That are in some ways very alike in terms of diversity, commitment to democracy and so on. And there is a great deal of respect both directions of governance and way of life and so on. Diverisity of both countires very noticeable, commitment to the rule of law very much established. Parliamentary democracy, free democracy in every sort of area one sees mutual admiration developing that really is the focus of the relationshiop that touches very area, science and technology, space, education, HIV./AIDS, agricultural investment flows, energy in all not just civilian nuclear environmental issues all of these areas are under discussion and constant advance. Most notably, the open skies agreement which is a huge step forward, free airline operations, cargo movement and so on which has transformed in its own way the relationship," he added.

      When asked whether he noticed the same degree of enthusiasm from his Indian negotiators or whether he detected mutual suspicion as during the Cold War era, Ambassador Mulford said: "I think its much diminished and a thing of the past. Two large countries obviously don't agree on everything ands won't ever agree on everything, Its a nature of the relationship, major relationship of democracies doing things together they have different points of view and these are reflective, But its a new relationship of the enormous forward progress in the last 10-15 years." "The important part is the way President sees the relationship, that it is a free standing relationship between US and India on vision of the future, it is developing in that direction and he himself said recently that we have an important relationship with each country. We are not in a position of looking through the prism of each country's relationship with the US. Each relationship has its own unique value," Mulford said. "What he (Bush) said was that the US would like to assist, not propel India in its own vision to emerge as a world power and that's being reflected in many many ways in the entire agenda that we are talking about. That is one of the things that is recognised. The U.S. is open to that, encouraging and hoping to be useful as India progresses. That's very much in the interest of the U.S. as well," the envoy concluded. .

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