The highlight was that the US President Barrack Obama attended the reception hosted by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the visiting minister. The rare gesture of attending a reception at the State department (located at Foggy Bottom) was to allay India's concerns that the US views relationship with New Delhi through the prism of Pakistan and Afghanistan or an emerging giant China and Obama administration had downgraded the ties which were high during the Bush regime.

The other high point was Obama's announcement at the reception about his impending visit to India in November. Presidential visits early in the regime are seen as a gesture of importance to the country he visits. Obama has invited Prime Minister Singh last November as the first state guest during his presidency which was marked by hype and symbolism.

The strategic dialogue is seen as a preparation for the summit meeting between Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a more purposeful visit. Obama was eloquent when he said at the reception 'Our relations with India are at the highest of priorities for my administration and for me personally as president of the United States,' He began with a greeting of 'Good evening, everyone. Namaste” and declared US ties with India will be one of the defining partnerships of the century.

Interestingly, the June meeting came after similar strategic dialogue sessions with Afghanistan and Pakistan and also China. To be fair to both sides, expectations were not raised before the meeting. In the words of US Assistant Secretary of State, South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake, the purpose was really to think strategically and to get the key people who work on these issues together to think ahead to the (US) President's visit and to think strategically about what could be done. Washington also wanted to assure that its perceived closeness to Pakistan and China was not at the cost of India.

Behind all these is the fact that the US is aware of the growing stature of India. U.S. firms are among those bidding for a $10 billion sale of 126 advanced fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, one of the biggest defense global tender. Washington sees India as a potential player for international trade and security partner. India is the second fastest growing economy.

The agenda for the strategic dialogue was quite rich but several key issues needed to be sorted out like outsourcing, technology transfer as well nuclear cooperation, and health and gender issues. Counter-intelligence is another area where cooperation needs to go forward. The meeting discussed among other issues terrorism, nuclear proliferation, economic cooperation, climate change etc but many of New Delhi's concerns remained unaddressed.

Analysts feel that while the meeting went off well, some issues were not fully addressed. The first was India's claim for the UN Security Council permanent seat. Here the response was not very direct as Hillary Clinton merely said though there had been no way forward on UN reforms; the US was committed to pursuing India's case.

The second was about India's plea to urge the US to use its influence over Pakistan to contain terrorism against India. The response to this was lukewarm. The Americans have been suggesting to New Delhi to solve the problem bilaterally and engage Islamabad. The Obama administration knows that New Delhi is critical of its selective response on counter terrorism. Just a month ago, it is said to have issued a secret directive to convince India to deal with Pakistan's concerns and perceptions including Kashmir and Afghanistan.

The third is about access to Headley, an American citizen of Pakistani origin, now in the US custody in connection with masterminding the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. The US is slow in conceding the access. In fact, India's patience is reaching its limits. The US officials denied the media reports that Headley issue had overtaken the strategic talks.

The fourth is Afghanistan and the US Af-Pak policy. New Delhi has some reservations on this issue and Pakistan resents India's role in Afghanistan and wants to keep India out. The American line was clear when Robert Blake said on the eve of strategic talks in a web chat “We strongly welcome India's role in Afghanistan through assistance and reconstruction programme...; we think that Pakistan also has a very important role to play in the security and stability of Afghanistan. We are not going to succeed in Afghanistan without the active support of our friends in Pakistan.” After the talks Hillary Clinton said the US did not see India only in the context of Afghanistan and Pakistan. All these go to show that India's concerns on Afghanistan were not fully addressed.

Have the strategic talks taken the Indo-US ties forward? It is clear that during the next few months it will be the White House, which will play a bigger role on account of Obama's visit in November. The US has realized that the Indo-US toes have moved beyond and more institutionalized in defence, military modernization, energy, technology, education and economic issues. The year 2010 will see more hype on the Indo-US ties. (IPA Service)