Obama’s Indian Odyssey

‘Should the West be scared?’

This question was posed on a BBC panel discussion earlier this week, in the light of President Obama’s recently concluded visit to India and Prime Minister Cameron’s trip to China. While this particular discussion was limited, it has been interesting to observe the somewhat dismissive coverage in the British media about the visit. Interesting, given the takeaways from the Cameron visit to India in July this year (see earlier blog).

Having personally been involved with a number of head of state visits to India over the last two decades, including President Clinton’s visit to India in March 2000, here is my take on the messages for business – both overt and covert – from President Obama’s game-changing and mesmerising visit to India.

1. Recognition of a new world order. During his trip, President Obama has peppered each of his speeches with unequivocal assertion to the fact that relationships have changed and that ‘we need to change with them’. His comment that the US-India partnership will be the ‘defining partnership of the 21st century’, his description of India as ‘indispensable’ and a ‘cornerstone’ of US policy in Asia and his wish to see India take up a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, speak volumes of the paradigm shift that has taken place in the mindset of the world’s largest economy. To quote President Obama, 'India isn't emerging, it has emerged'.
2. It’s (also) the economy, stupid. A country’s chief executive is responsible not only for a country’s physical security but also its economic security. A point that President Obama has not been allowed to forget for a single day since he embarked on his journey to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The result – consciously choosing to kick off his historic visit with India’s commercial capital – Mumbai – announcing business deals worth US$15 billion, supporting 70,000 jobs in the United States, by the close of the three days of his visit.
3. Knowledge is the new global currency, technology the game-changer, people the glue, youth the catalyst.
4. Protectionism doesn’t pay. Growth will come through trade with Asia. It is inevitable and not a zero-sum game. Global economic integration has promise and potential. We need to negotiate this changing relationship.

Or, as President Obama’s icon, Mahatma Gandhi, succinctly observed, ‘be the change you want to see in the world’.

On your marks, get set, go . . .

With the European Athletic Championships underway, I can not help but correlate last week’s State visit by David Cameron and his team, to India, to the sports arena.   The delegation, representing the ‘best of Britain’ – from government, industry, academia, sports, media and culture – spent an intense 48 hours in an endeavour to lay the foundation for a new, stronger, wider, deeper partnership with India. 

With a visit designed to generate a high impact across key sectors of engagement for the UK, Cameron and his band of merry men (and a few women) returned to the UK with a number of important messages.  These messages, while not revelationary, are in many ways, eye-opening for an economy whose constituents have, traditionally, been largely content in domestic (and at best, regional) economic bliss.

What are these messages?

1. British business needs to globalise its outlook if it wants to grow.  
2. The foreseeable future belongs to Asia. 
3. There is intent to put India at the centre of the UK’s foreign and economic policies.
4. The new India is a different India requiring a new mindset and a new approach.
5. There are tremendous long-term opportunities for British businesses – an ability to tap them will be key.
6. The world is wooing India and India knows it. 
7. The past is important but the future is relevant.

Whether British business will heed the writing on the wall only time will tell.  In the meantime, both Presidents Obama and Sarkozy are gearing up for their respective high-level visits to India later this year.  The race is on. And, as Darwin so wisely predicted, it will be a case of survival of the fittest.

What’s in a name?

Since taking over the running of the United Kingdom, the Conservative-Liberal coalition has been doing much to try and get its semantic on Britain’s relationship with India right. Initially, we were told that the new coalition government was interested in forging a ‘special’ relationship with India. By the time it came for the Queen’s iteration at the official opening of Parliament a few days later, the endeavour had been re-classified as an "enhanced partnership”.

As the mandarins and spin doctors each work to establish an acceptable equilibrium in terminology, David Cameron and his 90-member A-team have embarked on their Indian summer odyssey. That the terms of the economic relationship are today skewed in favour of India is today being publicly acknowledged by the British media. One can only hope that Team Cameron is able to find the right nuance for the partnership - not only metaphorically but literally as well. Otherwise, it will be much ado about nothing.