United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, United Nations

India-US Relations: Work in Progress
On the threshold of a new evolving partnership with the US, India should adopt an attitude of 'enlightened self-interest' in its policy making, writes D. V. Venkatagiri. The Indian Prime Minister's landmark visit to the United States in July 2005 has been written about ad nauseam. However two months after the event, it is interesting to reflect on what exactly was achieved in the context of India-US relations. For one, the visit drew extreme reactions. While it is to be expected that in a democracy like India, different groups will react differently, particularly when the issue is India's relations with the US, the extreme reaction of the Opposition parties and the Left - which branded the visit a 'sellout' of India's interests - came as a bit of a shock. What's worse is that the Prime Minister too got rattled by the reactions and in his reply to the Parliament said that he 'did not go to the US as a representative of a supplicant nation'.. [20 October 2005]

Paradigm Shift in India-US Relations
The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United States between 18 and 20 July 2005 was a turning point in the hot-now-cold-now relationship between the two countries. The George Bush administration in a landmark decision extended civilian nuclear assistance to India, virtually setting aside the decades-old demand that India sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). The US offer to help India build nucelar power plants and import advanced weapons, comes as a major coup for the Indian government and is an indication of the closer ties between the two nations. Not surprisingly, media coverage of the PM's visit was almost entirely dominated by the discussion on the new 'nuclear deal'. ICFDC.com presents a roundup of the global media's coverage of the PM's visit. The following documents are also included with this article:. [28 August 2005]

What Triggered the India-US Defence Framework?
The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) programme launched by India and the US to enhance India-US relations laid the groundwork for a new initiative. The Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship was unveiled just before Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US in July 2005. The framework has been equally hailed and criticised by different sections in India as well as abroad. Some Indian security analysts have hailed it as 'the most far-reaching and comprehensive military agreement that India has signed with any country', while others have denounced it as a sellout to American interests. ICFDC.com presents an analysis of the key issues at stake. [18 July 2005]

Pranab Mukherjee's US Visit - New India-US Defence Pact Signed
Indian Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, toured the United States in end June 2005, meeting senior US officials and politicians, including Vice President Richard Cheney, Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld. The highlight of his visit was the formal signing of a new US-India Defence Pact on 28 June. Mukherjee's visit was seen as a precursor to the Indian Prime Minister's scheduled visit to the US in mid-July this year. During the Mukherjee visit, the US leadership wanted to show that it is prepared to move fast on its promise to build a strategic relationship with India. [1 July 2005]

Statements by US Officials on India in 2005
The India-US relationship is on a roll. Government level interactions have increased tremendously over the past several months and top US officials have made some significant statements about India-US relations. US Secretary Condoleezza Rice has stated that India has the potential of becoming a world power in the 21st century. Christina Rocca, assistant secretary for South Asian Affairs too focused on India-US relations in a statement before the House International Relations Subcommittee for Asia and the Pacific. ICFDC.com presents excerpts of the key statements by US officials. [26 June 2005]

India-US Energy Dialogue Joint Statement
Washington DC: The US Secretary for Energy, Dr. Samuel W. Bodman and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia met in Washington, DC on May 31, 2005 to launch a new bilateral India - U.S. Energy Dialogue. The establishment of the Dialogue reflects the transformed strategic relationship between the U.S. and India as called for by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Secretary Bodman and Dr. Ahluwalia agreed that it was important to show progress in the Energy Dialogue before the visit to the U.S of Prime Minister Singh.[31 May 2005]

Indian, US Universities Collaborate on Technology Education
Ashok Siddhanti, who heads a Virginia software-products company called Envizion Corporation, said that 70 percent of his IIT graduating class of 20 years ago came to the United States for graduate school or work. Today, he said, 30 percent of IIT graduates will take that same path. Revisions in the visa process as a result of the September 11, 2001, attacks has affected the number of applications U.S. schools receive from foreign students, although officials claim that, so far, enrollment is steady. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) just awarded its second class of master’s degrees in information technology in Greece and is offering computer classes in Japan and Qatar. Could India be next?[31 May 2005]

India-US Economic Relations
The economic reforms that were introduced in India in 1991 have had a major impact not just on the Indian economy but also on the economic relations that the country shares with the rest of the world, particularly the United States. The US is the largest investor in India in terms of FDI approvals, actual inflows and portfolio investment. US investments are to be found in practically every sector in India which is open for private players. By 2003, India became the 24th largest destination for US exports. Similarly, India's investments in the US are steadily gowing as are its exports. [25 March 2005]

"Democracy is strengthened by the access to knowledge"
David A. Gross, US Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in his speech at the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai on 4 February 2005, highlighted how India and the US can build a real partnership on the twin pillars of technology and democracy. [4 February 2005]

US Senators Pledge to Deepen Strategic Partnership with India
At  a press conference in New Delhi, US Senators Bill Frist, Mike Dewine, Norm Coleman and Mitch McConnell unfold their vision of the US' strategic partnership with India. Transcript of their press conference. [10 January 2005]

America's Cooperative Approach to Missile Defence
US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control  Stephen G. Rademaker's remarks to the American Foreign Policy Council's 2004 Conference on "Missile Defences and American Security" . A talk on the role of missile defence in US national security strategy, and in particular, the growing importance of our co-operative efforts with friends and allies to America's overall approach to missile defence. [17 December 2005]

Indian Americans: Acquiring a Political Identity
After establishing themselves in key professions in the US, Indian Americans are now asserting themselves in American politics. Bobby Jindal, who won the US Congress elections in November 2004, is one of many budding Indian American politicians.

India-US Relations: NSSP: Actioning a Strategic Partnership
There has been a flurry of activity on the India-US relations front in recent times. The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative, launched in January 2004 jointly by US President George W. Bush and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, to expand cooperation in civilian nuclear activities, space programmes and high technology trade has progressed significantly. Just ahead of the meeting in New York on September 21, 2004, between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush, the two sides had successfully concluded the first phase of the NSSP with the US easing restrictions on supply of equipment and technology for India's civilian space and nuclear programmes, which included removing ISRO from a prohibition list, clearing a major obstacle in Indo-US strategic ties. [31 October 2004]

US Ambassador Mulford on the The Making of a Comprehensive Relationship
Relations between India and the US have never been better. At a Boston University Alumni Reception in Mumbai, Ambassador David C. Mulford talked about the key areas in which the two countries have been working to build the foundation for a "comprehensive relationship".[15 September 2004]

India-EU Relations: Trade and Investment Trends
Trade between India and EU has been growing at a fast clip. EU exports to India grew by 17 per cent between 2003 and 2004 while Indian exports to the EU registered a 16 per cent growth. In 2004, export of Indian metals, stones and ganite, etc. recorded the highest growth of 55.6 per cent over 2003, while export of engineering goods grew by 22.1 per cent over 2003. Chemicals and minerals, with a 22.1 per cent growth rate, was also a major performer for Indian exports. [26 November 2005]

Charting a New Course in India-EU Relations
More than 200 people, including EU and Indian officials, industrialists, professionals, decision-makers, political leaders and media persons, congregated in Brussels on 8 and 9 November 2005 for a conference hosted jointly by the Europe India Chamber of Commerce, Commonwealth Business Council and the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin to discuss and debate the future of India-EU relations. The focus was on harnessing mutual potential to enhance trade and investment between the two entities. ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee files this exclusive report on the event's proceedings from Brussels. [10 November 2005]

India, EU Map Out a Course for Strategic Partnership
The India-EU Summit in New Delhi heralded the expanding relations between India and the EU. Dipanjan Roy Chaudhary reports on the range of initiatives that the two sides have launched as a result of the Joint Action Plan.. [15 September 2005]

Political Declaration on the India-EU Strategic Partnership
This is the text of the Political Declaration made on the occasion of the India-EU Summit in New Delhi on 7 September 2005 India and the EU. [15 September 2005]

'India will be a Winner from Greater Openness'
Address by Peter Mandelson, European Trade Commissioner at the EU-India Business Summit in New Delhi on 7 September 2005. [15 September 2005]

India and EU to partner on the Galileo Project
After intensive exchanges held since January 2004, negotiations on India’s participation in Europe's satellite radio navigation programme finally reached approval. The agreement, signed in New Delhi on the occasion of the EU-India Summit in the presence of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as EU Presidency, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will ensure the availability of highest quality Galileo services in India as well as cooperation to establish regional augmentation systems based on EGNOS and GALILEO. [15 September 2005]

EU-India Trade: On a Growth Curve
Trade between the EU and India is on the rise. The EU is India's largest trading partner accounting for 23.72 per cent of India's exports and 16.69 per cent of total Indian imports. ICFDC.com takes a look at how India-EU trade has grown.[4 July 2005]

There is no reason why India and EU cannot form an FTA
The Europe-India Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation registered under the Belgian law, which serves as the key liaising organisation representing the views of enterprises and semi-business groups of India and Europe having business interest in each others’ countries. Secretary General Sunil Prasad talks about the key issues impacting India-EU business relations in an exclusive interview with ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee.[15 June 2005]

"India and EU Need to Build a Genuine Cultural and Social Partnership": Neena Gill
Neena Gill, a member of the European Parliament, is one of the three Labour MEPs for the West Midlands region of the UK. She is the only female British Parliamentarian of Asian descent. Ms Gill is a full member of the Budgets Committee in the Parliament, and a substitute member of the Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy Committee. She is also a member of the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform and the Chair of the South Asia Delegation. Ms Gill who was recently in India to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas spoke to Dipanjan Ray Chaudhury of icfdc.com in an exclusive interview on the future of India-EU relations, among other issues. [6 April 2005]

EU-India Cooperation in Science and Technology
India produces world class science in the domains of biotechnology, pure mathematics, theoretical physics, chemistry, information technology and space research, among others. Europe recognises that there is enormous scope for building successful partnerships between Indian and European laboratories. The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) which is the EU's most important programme for research cooperation has a total available budget of Euro 17.5 billion over the five year period from 2002 to 2006. FP6 is the financial instrument to make an integrated European Research Area a reality. [3 March 2005]

The Future of EU-India lies in the Hands of the Private Sector and Civil Society, says EU Ambassador Gomes
The EU-India Summit has paved the way for greater cooperation between the governments of both sides and has increased the scope of a gamut of business relations, says Francisco Da Camara Gomes, EU Ambassador  in an exclusive interview to icfdc.com.[2 January 2005]

India, EU to frame strategic partnership, combat terrorism
India and the European Union today decided to jointly chart out a comprehensive action plan for a strategic partnership and initiate a dialogue on disarmanent and non-proliferation. The agenda also includes a plan to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestation. In a joint statement issued at the end of the fifth Indo-EU summit at the Hague on Monday, the two sides decided to intensify cooperation and take action to facilitate and expand bilateral trade and investment. [9 November 2004]

The EU-India-USA Trialogue
EU-India-USA Trialogue identifies common objectives and interests in inter-regional security. There is a need to develop a comparative perspective between EU-India and US-India relations with a focus on commonalities and differences of perceptions within the EU-India-US. To do this, a unique EU-India-US Trialogue on Inter-Regional Security was co-organised  by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Hanns Seidel Stiftung and the European Institute for Asian Studies on 30 September 2004 in Brussels, ahead of the EU-India Summit. Speakers at the Trialogue represented the EU institutions (European Commission, Council of the European Union and European Parliament) while India was represented by her Ambassador to the European Union. Speakers also included leading analysts drawn from prominent think-tanks in the US, India and Europe. The track-two trialogue was attended by 150 participants from the diplomatic, official and academic communities in Brussels. [30 September 2004]

Tomorrow's Europe: Increased Opportunities for India
On 1 May, 2004, 10 new member states joined the EU - the biggest enlargement ever and a historic occasion and opportunity. With the induction of the 10 countries - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia - the EU has emerged as the world's biggest eoncomic bloc with a population of over 450 million and a GDP of over EUR 9.25 trillion (Rs  460 trillion). Negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania will continue for their inclusion as member states. The EU has decided to begin negotiations with Turkey if sufficient progress is made towards meeting the criteria by December 2004. [29 November 2004]

India-EU Economic Cooperation: Strategies for  2002-2006
The European Union (EU) is India's main trading partner and a major foreign investor. The EU  accounted for 23.2 % of India's exports and 21.2 per cent of total imports in 2002. Trade between India and the EU has grown  constantly over the past decade, nearly trebling to today's volume of €27 billion. The EU and its Member States  collectively make the biggest bilateral contribution to India's development programmes.

Other EU related articles

The India-UK Eighth Round Table Meeting
The eighth meeting of the UK-India Round Table was held at the Devonshire Arms Hotel, Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire on 6 and 7 February 2005. In the chair were Lord Swraj Paul, the UK Co-Chairman and Mr Hamid Ansari, the Indian Co-Chairman. The main themes of the meeting were drawn from the Joint Declaration of 20 September 2004 and the exercise known as the Prime Ministers' Initiative, namely the Movement of Peoples, Education, Trade & Investment and Public Diplomacy. All participants concluded that this had been an excellent meeting, with dynamic, open and constructive discussion, resulting in a strong push for meaningful action in a wide variety of areas. There was agreement that the Round Table should play a more active role between meetings to assist in the implementation of its recommendations.

India-UK: Forging Economic Partnerships
The UK has emerged as India's  second largest trading partner after the US, and the largest  in Europe. Trade has grown steadily since the Indo-British  Partnership was set up in 1993. 2003 was a particularly good year for Indo-UK ties. While the UK remains the largest  cumulative investor in India, in recent years Indian investments, particularly in the IT sector, have grown. India  is now the second largest investor in the UK from Asia, in terms of projects, and the eighth largest overall.

India-Australia: An Emerging Partnership
July 2000 was the turning point for relations between India and Australia. Since then, trade and investment between the two countries have flourished. In 2004, two-way trade reached a record Rs 214.5 billion or AUD 6.5 billion, an increase of 65 per cent, over the previous year. ICFDC.com presents a curtain-raiser to India-Australia relations, as the two countries prepare for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit in June 2005, followed by PM Howard's second visit to India in July 2005.