The setting could not have been more perfect. At exactly 9 a.m. on Mar. 2, in the golden light of a rising winter sun, U.S. President George Bush was welcomed to India with full honors at the country's magnificent presidential palace in New Delhi. As he walked past the army, navy and air force guards, past the mounted presidential bodyguard, and greeted the various Indian and foreign dignitaries who waited in a patient line to meet him, the President looked genuinely happy.
Bush has received more than a warm welcome from India. He will go back with many prizes firmly in his pocket. Widely regarded as the trip's trophy is the deal for cooperation on civilian nuclear technology, which will give India access to U.S. nuclear knowhow and fuel. Certainly, it is a huge public success for Bush
LAST-MINUTE VICTORY. The negotiations were long and sometimes intractable, with India's opposition and left-wing parties and the scientific community protesting the terms of the deal. Talks almost broke down before Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns rushed to New Delhi last week to try to salvage the situation. It looked worse as hundreds of thousands of Indians took to the streets on Mar. 1 and 2, protesting Bush's invasion of Iraq and the Indian government's alleged capitulation to "American imperialism."
The details were sewn up at 10:30 a.m. this morning, barely two hours before Bush and Singh made a joint public statement of success. The nuclear deal will give foreign businessmen the opportunity to provide 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power for India -- business worth an estimated $60 billion. Optimism over the deal drove the Bombay exchange to an all-time record high.
But the real rewards of the agreement are the deeper feelings of cooperation that the effort has fostered. The success of Bush's trip stems from the quiet and determined work done by the U.S. Trade Representative's office and India's Commerce Ministry.
FRUITS OF DIPLOMACY. You could call it mango diplomacy. Mangoes as a diplomatic tool? Don?t laugh. Thanks to the efforts of U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, much smaller and far more significant and sustainable business opportunities were opened today -- starting with the import of Indian mangoes into the U.S.
The Indian mango, especially the King Alphonso variety, is widely regarded as the most luscious of the species. For years, India has exported it to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. But the U.S. would not allow the fruit to be imported from India, citing lack of compliance with Food & Drug Administration requirements. That hurt India's pride -- and deprived the 2 million Indians living in the U.S. of their beloved fruit.
So last November, when Nath met Portman, he explained that civilian nuclear matters could be resolved, but "to millions of Indians, the ability to access and sell mangoes strikes close to their hearts," recalls Karan Bhatia, the U.S. deputy trade representative who has been working overtime to cement trade ties. Portman, a Republican from produce-exporting Ohio, understood at once.
ENERGY AID. Today, after 17 years, the U.S. has opened trade in mangoes with India. Mangoes will now be exported to the U.S. from India according to U.S. norms of pesticide use and preservation, and will provide Indian exporters with a "road map on how to export fruits to the U.S.," adds Bhatia. Speaking to the Indian public on the opening up of new markets after his meeting with Singh today, President Bush said he was "looking forward to eating Indian mangoes."
This fruitful exchange clearly has been inspiring. Nath and Portman have set a bold goal to double Indo-U.S. trade in three years, to $52 billion, which requires a 25% annual growth in bilateral trade.And, Bhatia declares, "we are already on that path."
Given the slew of agreements made today, the two countries can easily reach their goal. One agreement pledges cooperative work on alternate energies to reduce both India's and the U.S.'s dependence on oil. The U.S. promises to consider India's longstanding desire to increase the number of visas for Indian professionals, and for students traveling to the U.S. India pledges to lower tariffs on life-saving drugs and on agricultural and manufactured goods imported from the U.S. India also agreed to push for stricter intellectual property rights and to provide greater domestic market access to foreign banks, insurance companies, and law firms. In addition, a host of agreements were signed to promote education, research and development in agriculture, agro-processing, biotechnology, and water resources.
BIG BUZZ. Much of this effort has come from Portman and Nath. Both are widely regarded as pragmatic, ambitious, and energetic policymakers who have sought and generated support from official and private sources. In particular, they have relied on the cooperation of two groups of U.S. and Indian businessmen. One is the CEO Forum, comprising 20 selected U.S. and Indian business executives, which was set up by President Bush last year to focus on a joint agenda for the private sector outside of the political process. The other is the U.S.-India Business Council, a Washington lobbying association with 180 members from both countries.
The CEO Forum's report on cooperation in infrastructure, technology, trade and investment was submitted today to Bush and Singh. "It creates a buzz, a bonding among businessmen and an energy" that is vital to encourage action from politicians, says Nandan Nilekani, chief executive of Infosys Technologies Limited (INFY) and one of the 10 Indian businessmen in the group.
The push from Indian and U.S. business to promote commercial ties is now so strong that the USIBC in the last year has more than doubled its membership. Mark Reidy, who sits on the USIBC board and is its general counsel, predicts that after the Bush trip, membership will double again. "The nuclear deal is just the key to the door," says Reidy. He expects Bush to have the nuclear agreement passed by the U.S. Congress by mid-March. Then, he says, U.S. business will roll into India.
EXTRA MILE. Reaching this point hasn't been easy. Nath and Portman have met nearly a dozen times in the last six months. The commercial deals almost fell through because the U.S. wanted India to open up its financial sector to more U.S. business, while the Indians wanted the U.S. to act on anti-dumping duties on Indian shrimp, for instance. Says an official close to the negotiations, "The U.S. felt till the last minute that it was giving India a very good deal, which India was not accepting, while India couldn't understand why the U.S. wouldn't walk the extra mile to get the deals done."
Eventually, though, commercial interests -- and the determination from Nath and Portman to succeed -- triumphed. "Rob Portman and I tell each other what we've done, and how we're gonna move, and how we're gonna [make things] move," says Nath, who earned global respect when he used his powers of persuasion to push through a new patent law for India last year ahead of a World Trade Organization deadline.
After the Bush-Singh public appearance today, Nath held a private meeting with U.S. businessmen in his office. He gave them some tips on investing in India: Don't be thrown off by Indian bureaucracy and slowness; it's the same as the U.S. Push the small and medium U.S. businesses to work with Indian businesses. Most important, don't rock the political boat. For instance, if Wal-Mart or French retailer Carrefour can't wait a year till the Indian government permits retailers to set up shop in India, then get a foot in the door by starting out with a wholesale operation, which the government does allow. "Some things you will have to do which are India-specific," he explained. The prize -- India?s vast market -- is worth it.
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