AIPAC Trip Highlights U.S.-Israel-India Ties

2/19/2007

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AIPAC Trip Highlights U.S.-Israel-India Ties

The security measures at Number 7 Race Course Road in New Delhi are reminiscent of  Jerusalem.  Passports are carefully examined; cellphones, Blackberries and cameras are left behind; guards carefully check each individual visitor for weapons.  As in Israel, special precautions are taken to ensure the protection of the Prime Minister at his official residence.  India’s history of political assassinations and terrorism necessitate such measures.

It is in part because of the shared threat of terrorism that the meeting with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is about to take place.  The AIPAC Board of Directors has journeyed here to meet with India’s national leaders to discuss ways the United States, Israel and India can work more closely together to confront the gravest dangers in today’s world:  the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical arms and terrorism motivated by religious extremism. 

The final meeting of our six-day visit to this unique country is with the Prime Minister.  We have already visited the Jewish community in Mumbai; toured some of India’s key historic sites, such as the Taj Mahal; and met with numerous business leaders, government officials and Members of Parliament.  A few hours earlier, we visited the spot at India’s Parliament building where Pakistani-supported terrorists killed nine people in December 2001. 

As Prime Minister Singh enters and greets us each individually, I am struck by the poignancy of the moment.  The leader of this country of 1.1 billion people has once again carved out time to have a meaningful conversation on the critical issues of the day with leaders of America’s pro-Israel community.  I remember a previous meeting with Prime Minister Singh in New York when he averred that he knew of no other group in history that has played such a prominent role in the development of civilization as the Jewish people.

In the rough-and-tumble world of politics in the world’s largest democracy, Singh presents himself as a humble and dignified man.  He is a Sikh leading a nation of some 885 million Hindus and 145 million Muslims.  With a Ph.D. in economics, he has devised and implemented sweeping market-oriented reforms.  His ascendancy to this powerful position was almost accidental.  After his political party won a surprise victory in the May 2004 elections, Congress Party leader Sonja Gandhi deferred to her second-in-command, and Dr. Manmohan Singh became India’s 13th Prime Minister.

In our meeting with Prime Minister Singh, we praise him for expanding India’s cooperation with the United States, encourage him to raise the profile of his country’s relationship with Israel and urge a more assertive stand towards Iran.  Prime Minister Singh speaks with quiet confidence in describing New Delhi’s new partnership with Washington.  He talks about the great value he places on India’s growing ties with Israel, particularly in the areas of defense, agricultural and economic cooperation. He emphasizes that Iran is obliged to meet international nuclear commitments but that he hopes that dialogue and diplomacy facilitated by the United Nations will lead to a solution.
India has made a clear choice to form a strategic partnership with the United States.  In addition to the recent civil nuclear agreement, there are many other areas of increasing cooperation, including military exercises, shared intelligence, joint efforts in Afghanistan, agriculture, space and education.  Prime Minister Singh and his government have expended enormous political capital on developing this relationship.

Regarding Indo-Israeli relations, the two countries will mark the 15th anniversary of full diplomatic ties in the week after our visit.  India sees Israel as a country with similar values that faces the common threat of jihadist terrorism.  India is becoming increasingly reliant on Israeli weapons and other military technology ($1.5 billion in imports from Israel in 2006).  Civilian trade between the two countries also continues to rise at a fast clip ($2.5 billion in 2006) and is expected to double.  India is using Israeli technology and methodologies to patrol its borders and seas.  

While the tangibles of defense and economic cooperation are on the rise, there are still areas of concern.  The current government, dependent on the votes of a large Muslim voting bloc and the communist party, prefers a lower profile in its relations with Israel, and India continues to vote against Israel at the United Nations.  Regarding the Iranian nuclear threat, India’s two votes against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2005 and 2006 were extremely important and marked a historic change in India’s approach.   Yet India could probably use its special relationship with Iran more nimbly and actively to change Iranian policies that New Delhi opposes.

In spite of some areas of difference, however, it is important to focus on the trend lines in India’s expanding bonds with both the United States and Israel.  Our experience in India confirms that there are overlapping values and interests that have created new opportunities and relationships.  India’s role in world affairs and the international economy is on the rise, and finding new areas of cooperation will become increasingly important for all three countries.