Condoleezza Rice suggests India and US to close the deal

Hosted by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, India Leadership Summit kicked off to discuss the potential of US-India relationship beyond trade and security. This year the panelists not only spoke about the cooperation between the two countries but also discussed the scope for taking the bilateral ties into a new direction amid global uncertainty. The summit aimed to find new ways of bringing the two nations together. 

'Policies can be brought about peacefully through the voice of the people'

Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State during George W Bush’s administration and of the speakers at the event argued both nations have much more potential and can do much better, she stated the nuclear deal between the two nations has opened the possibility of a much more sophisticated relationship in the fields of defense and humanitarian issues.

Condoleezza Rice also stated the importance of democracy that both nations share and stated how policies can be bought through the voice of the people. “one of the great advantages of democracies is that the governance and policy can be brought about peacefully through the voice of the people,” she said. 

"One of the great advantages of democracies is that change in the governance & policy can be brought about peacefully through the voice of people. Authoritarian regimes can make policy quickly but they can also make bad policy without oversight,"she said.

India and the US have been working towards a better trade relationship with a goal to enhance cooperation in energy and security. After Prime Minister Modi's US visit, the two nations are looking at possibilities to sign a deal. The former Secretary of State advised the negotiators present at the event to “get a deal”. Speaking at the event, BJP secretary Ram Madhav asserted the democratic world to come together to fight terrorism. He stated Terrorism is a problem faced by many countries. “the entire democratic world has to come together to fight it,” he said. 

READ | India-US bilateral defence trade to reach $18 bn this year: Pentagon

'Giant economies bound to be in competition'

The second summit is underway in Delhi, expected to be attended by a host of politicians, experts and executives lined up to share their views on where does US and India relations stand. With the US-China trade war at its peak and India-China attempting to resolve their differences, trade ties between India and the US become important and interesting. When Ram Madhvan was asked on the India-China relationship, he said that the gigantic economies are “bound to be in competition” as they “scout for resources in the same region.” 

READ | Donald Trump, Susan Rice in war of words over Syria and 'gross' hug

READ | 'India-US trade negotiations going in full speed': Nirmala Sitharaman