By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Indicating the bipartisan support that US-India ties enjoy, Democrats have now vowed to “continue to invest in a long-term strategic partnership with India to support its ability to serve as a regional economic anchor” as they formally approved President Barack Obama’s second run for the White House.
Reaffirmation of the ties with India came in the Democratic platform approved at the party convention in Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday that also suggested that alliances which had been the cornerstone of US engagement “had been badly damaged under the Bush administration.”
In seeking to rebalance US foreign policy under Obama, the Democration party resolution said, Washington had turned greater attention towards Asia-Pacific region” given Asia’s “status as the fastest growing economic region, with most of the world’s nuclear powers and about half of the world’s population.”
“…And we will continue to invest in a long-term strategic partnership with India to support its ability to serve as a regional economic anchor and provider of security in the broader Indian Ocean region,” it said.
Last week the Republican platform approved at their convention in Tampa, Florida, had declared India a “geopolitical ally and a strategic trading partner”.
“We welcome a stronger relationship with the world’s largest democracy, India, both economic and cultural, as well as in terms of national security,” the party had declared as it formally named Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential candidate.
To give emerging economies “a greater voice and a greater stake in the global economy”, the Democratic platform said, it “had made the G-20 the premier forum for international economic coordination in recognition of the fact that 21st century economic discussions must include countries like China, India, Indonesia, and Brazil.”
Calling the national security threat from climate change as “real, urgent, and severe”, it said “the Obama administration has taken a leadership role in ongoing climate negotiations, working to ensure that other major economies like China and India commit to taking meaningful action.”
Turning to its key ally Pakistan, the platform said: “The Al Qaeda core may be on the path to defeat, but the organization and its affiliates remain active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere.”
Committed to responsibly ending the War in Afghanistan, it said, the US “will continue to provide counterterrorism and training assistance and to build an enduring relationship” with Kabul beyond 2014, but it will not build permanent bases in Afghanistan.
Serving a notice to Islamabad, the platform said, “More broadly, we will also continue to support peace and stability in South Asia. Pakistan can be a partner in that process.”
“The United States will make clear that we respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and democratic institutions, and that our interest is in putting an end to Al Qaeda’s safe havens and respecting Afghan sovereignty.”
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])