And for a Friday, a week globally dominated by the return of President Trump, some thoughts….. some musings…..
I don’t know what the viewership numbers were for the Trump swearing in ceremony, not only in the US, but almost every part of the World the event was watched, with experts analysing every move, every statement and all the proceedings. India was represented by the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as the Envoy of the Indian Prime Minister. He was seated in the very first row facing the incoming President. The newly appointed Secretary of State had his first meeting with him as also a Quad meeting with Foreign ministers of Japan and Australia joining in. All these gestures clearly point out the ever improving ties between India and US and the clear signaling of Trump administration eagerness to bolster India-US relations. Also a recognition that India will soon be the World’s third largest Economy.
I hear many voices of concern being expressed, especially on Immigration and Tariffs. India fully supports the US govt on its stand on illegal immigrants. There is absolutely no justification for these people to violate laws. Most fall prey to the machinations of sleazy agents and conmen. The pathetic situation was well captured in a Shah Rukh Khan movie “Dunki”. All those who break the laws deserve to be sent back to their respective states. Punjab Gujarat and Rajasthan have the most. US surely is benefitted by the H1-B visa programme by which highly qualified Indian Engineers, Medical Professionals, Architects and specialists contribute to the US economy and growth. There are strong indications that President Trump himself is supportive of the specialists contributing to MAGA (Make America Great Again). As regards trade it’s not a huge issue. The 37 Bn $s of trade surplus with India can be easily bridged by increasing imports of Crude, refined Petroleum and LNG from US, as well as other products and arrangements. It’s not a deal breaker for India.
It’s early days of the new Govt. But India and US, as the largest and oldest Democracies of the World, have a lot in common for betterment of its citizens. Let us all support US-India relationships, the mutually beneficial way, the sustainable way, the SEEGOS way.