September 21, 2024
Anthony Renzulli, Non-Resident Fellow at ORF America, was featured in a Q&A by Prashant Jha of Hindustan Times on the evolution of the U.S.-India relationship after serving as the U.S. National Security Council’s Director for India:
Q: How does India look different from these different locations within the US government?
I would not say it looks radically different. In 2006, the president of the United States set a very clear agenda vis-a-vis India and broadly the US government — State Department in particular, but also the other agencies that were engaged — did not have to be cajoled. They were willing. Some of this was spurred also by growing impact of an Indian-American community. So I don’t think the rationale was ever particularly difficult here. But there was also something of a performative element. You would get a secretary of an agency and bring them in for a short dialogue or the signing of something, but not always much follow up.
Now, I think it’s more substantive. The functional issues, particularly around technology, are more challenging. And so there are limits to what State alone can do. Achieving and sustaining commitments is harder work than it ever was before. It’s not enough now to just meet, hold a meeting, publish a readout. You really got to get some stuff done. There is a complexity to the partnership. What we wrote in the joint statement in 2023 that this is a partnership that touches every corner of human endeavour, it may have sounded hyperbolic, but it kind of feels true sometimes. I can’t think of an agency that doesn’t seem to be involved in the partnership.