Obama visit heralds new era for India in global affairs: AJC

Washington, Jan 28: The just-concluded India visit of US President Barack Obama is not only a significant step in furthering relations between the world's oldest and the largest democracies, but also heralds a new era for India in global affairs, an influential Jewish American organisation has said.

"President Obama's visit opens a new chapter in US-India relations, and a new era for India in global affairs," said Jason Isaacson from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in a statement yesterday as Obama concluded his three-day trip to New Delhi. In a statement AJC praised the agreements between the two countries during the Obama's visit, including the breaking of the impasse on civil nuclear cooperation.

AJC had actively supported the follow-on legislation for bilateral civil nuclear cooperation, enacted in 2008. Obama and Modi also renewed a 10-year defence pact, and agreed on the promotion of clean energy sources and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the statement said adding that for more than two decades AJC has engaged with successive Indian governments, civil society figures and Indian American leaders to advance the expansion of ties between India and the US as well as between India and Israel.

AJC leadership delegations led by president Stanley Bergman, Isaacson and AJC Asia Pacific Institute Director Shira Loewenberg visited New Delhi twice in 2014, meeting with senior government officials. In addition, Bergman and other AJC leaders met with Prime Minister Modi in New York last September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Through its Asia Pacific Institute, founded in 1989, AJC has been actively engaged with India, and maintains close ties with Indian officials and other representatives in New Delhi, across the United States, in Israel, and other countries. Earlier this month, AJC announced the appointment of a new representative, Arjun Hardas, in New Delhi to help maintain and strengthen these relations.

PTI