True driver of India-U.S. partnership

While the govts can make contributions in areas of mutual interest, long-term relationship will be built on individual contacts.

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Following the conclusion of the first India-US strategic dialogue , commentators in the Indian press have nearly uniformly expressed frustration with the lack of action under the Obama administration . To judge whether this dissatisfaction is grounded in reality, we must first ask whether each country has enough reason to invest in a close relationship with the other in the first place.

From the Indian perspective, there seem to be sufficient reasons for an affirmative answer. Accounting for almost a quarter of the world's GDP, the United States is by far the largest economy in the world. It is also the only super power on the globe and likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. It is a democracy that values other democracies. And, finally, it is by far the largest single recipient of India exports of goods and services. If we seek rising economic prosperity and increasing voice in the world affairs, America is a good bet.