India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for a five-day visit to the United States; Prime Minister Singh to meet his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York; Prime Minister Singh: India needs United States on its side; US Senate unanimously pass
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  • (SEPTEMBER 23-29)

    According to reports, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves New Delhi on September 25 on a five-day visit to the US during which he will hold summit talks with President Barack Obama as well as address the UN General Assembly. The prime minister will travel to New York to address the UNGA September 28. A meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart is likely on September 29 on the sidelines of the UNGA. Manmohan Singh's meeting with Obama in Washington on September 27 which is his third summit meeting with the US President, is expected to focus on implementation of the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal, enhancing defence cooperation and the situation in the region, including Afghanistan with the US-led forces to drawdown next year. 1

    In another development, according to reports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh September 25 said he will be meeting his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), setting at rest all speculations about the meeting. "During my visit to New York, I also look forward to bilateral meetings with the leaders of some of our neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan," the prime minister said in his statement. 2

    According to reports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Washington DC on September 26 for a Summit meeting with President Barack Obama, and noted that India needs United States on its side at a time when added thrust is being given to developmental programmes back home. Singh and Obama will review the status of the relationship and chart a course for the future, particularly in the areas of defence, security, trade and investment and civil nuclear cooperation. India's concerns over the proposed changes in the US visa norms will be flagged by the Prime Minister as these are going to hurt the Indian IT persons. 3

    Reports noted that the US Senate has unanimously passed a resolution welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US and underlined that enhanced economic, defence and security ties with India is critical to improve bilateral relations. The resolution, passed on September 26, calls for deepened US engagement with India and implementation of policies such as the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), US-India civil nuclear agreement and continued liberalisation of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) regulations. Introduced by the co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn, the resolution was sponsored by Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee among others. 4

    According to reports, the India-US Joint statement issued on September 27 noted that the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh and the President of the United States of America Barack Obama met this morning followed by a working luncheon at the White House. Marking their third bilateral summit, the two leaders reflected proudly on the transformation of United States-India relations during the last decade, affirming that the partnership between the two democratic nations is stronger today than at any point in their 67-year history. Rooted in common democratic values and strong people to people ties, the United States and India have developed a comprehensive global strategic partnership, both in name and in substance that has made their citizens safer and more prosperous. President Obama and Prime Minister Singh pledged to make the next decade equally as transformative, challenging their governments to reach the full potential of this partnership, particularly in the areas of security cooperation, bilateral trade and investment, energy and environment, higher education, and global architecture. The Leaders called for expanding security cooperation between the United States and India to address 21st century challenges in the areas of counter-terrorism, cyber, space, and global health security. 5

    According to reports, the India-US Joint Declaration on Defence Cooperation which was issues on September 27 noted that India-United States defence cooperation and engagement has increased significantly over the past decade, in step with the overall deepening of India-US relations. The United States and India share common security interests and place each other at the same level as their closest partners. This principle will apply with respect to defence technology transfer, trade, research, co-development and co-production for defence articles and services, including the most advanced and sophisticated technology. They will work to improve licensing processes, and, where applicable, follow expedited license approval processes to facilitate this cooperation. The U.S and India are also committed to protecting each other’s sensitive technology and information. The U.S. continues to fully support India's full membership in the four international export control regimes, which would further facilitate technology sharing. 6

    Reports noted that the US Secretary of State John Kerry, along with fellow diplomats, met briefly on September 26 with his Iranian counterpart, marking the highest-level meeting between the two countries since the Iranian revolution of 1979. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton later described the talks as “substantial” and said they had set the stage for a new round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program Oct. 15-16 in Geneva. Speaking to reporters later, Kerry warned there was still “a lot of work to be done” but added he welcomed the “change in tone.” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he was "satisfied with this first step." Kerry sat next to Zarif at the meeting, the Associated Press reported. Others, who attended the meeting, were the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany. The diplomats met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, amid mixed signals about how serious Iran was about coming back to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. 7

    Reports noted that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council reached an agreement on September 26 to push through a resolution calling for the swift elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, a key development in fast-paced day of diplomacy that also featured the highest-level U.S.-Iranian meeting in years. While questions remained Thursday night about specific language the Security Council will adopt toward Syria, the Obama administration said there had been a “breakthrough” after “hard-fought diplomacy” geared toward bolstering the deal struck between the U.S. and Russia to persuade embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad to give up his chemical weapons stockpile. 8

    According to reports, US President Obama while addressing United Nations General Assembly on September 24, said that he will use the remainder of his term to pursue better relations with Iran in the hope of resolving the controversy surrounding its nuclear program, pledging an activist U.S. agenda in the Middle East and beyond despite growing isolationist pressure at home. In a 50-minute address, Obama said he will devote his diplomatic efforts in the region to securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace agree­ment, hopeful that talks now underway through American encouragement may end the long conflict. He said that “real breakthroughs” on those two issues would “have a profound and positive impact on the entire Middle East and North Africa.” 9

    In other developments, US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Japan and Indonesia next week to renew US efforts to build ties in Asia amid his focus on the Middle East, officials said Thursday. Kerry will join Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for security talks with close US ally Japan on October 2-3 in Tokyo, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Kerry will then head to the Indonesian island of Bali for talks of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, joining President Barack Obama at a summit. 10

    The United States, the world's largest arms dealer, has joined more than 90 other nations in signing a treaty that regulates global arms trading, but there is strong resistance in the Senate, which must ratify it. Secretary of State John Kerry, who signed the Arms Trade Treaty on Wednesday, said it was a "significant step" in keeping the world safe and preventing terrorists and others from obtaining conventional weapons.” 11

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