Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi on May 26 / x/@ASDylanJohnson

The statements, the optics, the meetings all designed to strike not only the right note but also maintain a fine balance between an ally’s expectations and domestic confidence. America’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India is aimed at soothing the ruffled feathers and some business on the side. QUAD foreign minister’s meeting provided a perfect opportunity.

Rubio described the ties between the two countries as “strategic alliance between two countries that have global influence and the ability to influence global events”. 

 EAM Jaishankar in his opening statement the joint press conference summed up in five points what India is looking at - 

“…one, that we advocate dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts; 

two, we support safe and unimpeded maritime commerce; 

three, we demand scrupulous respect for international law; 

four, we are against weaponization of market shares and resources; 

and five, we believe in the value of trusted partnerships and resilient supply chains to de-risk the global economy. 

Just before this engagement, Jaishankar at the opening statement of bilateral talks had said “ We have a very deep very broad based cooperation and a relationship that impacts and influences other regions in the world and that is because we have converging interests on many issues and in many parts of the world.” 

Also Read: Rubio announces Quad initiatives on maritime security, ports, energy security, critical minerals

The emphasis has been to drive home the point that the interests of the two nations converge in several sectors, but also with clarity,  to outline the stress areas as mentions in his 5-pointer. Jaishankar could not have been clearer.  

The second term of Donald Trump as the American president has been extremely difficult for India. A dependable, steadfast relationship built painstakingly over last 20 years has faced unexpected challenges from President Trump.

From a 50 percent tariff, recurring claims of having mediated between India-Pakistan hostilities during Operation Sindoor, publicly praising Pakistan’s General Asim Munir who has been rabid against India, and that top post Pahalgam attack in which innocent tourists were killed to calling the country a shith***.  Not only the country suffered but so did PM Modi’s image back home. Opposition questioned what good president’s purported closeness to the PM has done? 

Secretary Marco Rubio is visiting India in this backdrop, at the peak of a punishing summer. In his opening statement at the joint press conference  while calling India a strategic partner he said…”There are only a handful of countries in the world that have both the economic and diplomatic power to be influential on strategic issues from a global perspective, and India's one of them.” 

This and many areas of cooperation and understanding apart, he also indicated clearly that domestic demands, expectations, politics will decide the course. In India too, its the same case but, being at the receiving end of the geopolitical instability which is hitting directly the constant energy requirements, its been difficult portraying the same bonhomie as earlier. 

Marco Rubio tried to give nuanced answers to the issues which have been talked about for some time. To my question on changes in F1, J1, H1B visa systems, he said it was not targeted at India but being modernised and may become more beneficial even though there might be some bumps on the way. On trade he clarified that America seeks a rebalancing and it’s not about creating friction.

On ties with Pakistan, Rubio stressed that he did not see America’ relation with any country in the world as coming “at the expense of” strategic alliance with India. 

At the grand 250 year birthday party for America, where 1500+ guests gathered and AR Rehman regaled the audience with well loved songs, President Trump on a speaker phone said he loves India and Modi. 

However, one high profile visit will not undo the harm done. Also , it will take more words and action to match. The process of repair is initiated hopes abound that soon the fissures will be gone.

The writer is an Independent Journalist covering diplomacy and international relations.

 

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad.)

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