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Not since President Jimmy Carter traveled to India 22 years ago has a U.S. President set foot in South Asia. President Nixon's visit to Pakistan was even farther back-some thirty years. And no U.S. President has ever visited Bangladesh. These facts alone mark President Clinton's upcoming week in South Asia with some sense of historic significance; yet journalists and South Asia watchers are already beginning to ask how deep this significance will be, and whether this trip will be one of substance-or mostly symbolism. The answer, in brief, is both. This trip will make good use of the kinds of symbolic statements that our media-savvy President knows will carry messages to the peoples of South Asia and America alike. But that doesn't necessarily mean that these will be acts of empty symbolism. What we are likely to see during March 20-26 are a carefully choreographed set of meetings and events which will make visible the direction the United States wants to be headed in the subcontinent. That direction is one of engagement. In the weeks since the White House announced the Presidential visit to South Asia, defined as India and Bangladesh, a diplomatic and media controversy began to brew over the President's itinerary. Will he or won't he? Should he or shouldn't he? Two weeks prior to the South Asia trip, the White House finally announced that the President would make a stop in Pakistan on his return to the U.S. Regardless of whether one agrees or not with the decision, it certainly mobilized the South Asia-watchers to pull together, crystallize their opinions, and make clear policy recommendations to the White House. While many such recommendations have taken the form of private memorandums to the President, one letter has just been made public which contains several well-argued positions. The Independent Task Force on South Asia, chaired by Richard Haas and Stephen Cohen, both of the Brookings Institution, released the contents of their letter to the President on Monday, March 13th.
Bangladesh
India
By now it is a commonplace assertion that India's science and technology sector and specialists are world-class. President Clinton will meet with leaders in the dynamic knowledge-based industries like information technology and biotechnology. But our US business interests are not the only beneficiaries of an expanded US-India business relationship: a progressively deeper Indian commitment to compete in a globalized free market economy is surely the best way to alleviate the burden of poverty facing India today. The President will take up issues of business engagement and advocate for increasing trade in both these contexts. He will probably also address the scope for our joint cooperation on matter of energy: in production, as well as in finding new, more economical ways to produce cleaner fuels for a sustainable way of life. President Clinton will likely address the commitment our two democracies share to managing our multi-ethnic societies through democratic processes. This commitment can be a potent antidote to the poison of ethnic enmity-- all too virulent -- now threatening many nations. How we can strengthen our commitment via cooperation on issues of human rights and governance may be important starting points for an expanded US-India relationship dealing with social issues. Security issues will continue to be a bone of contention,
but will not overshadow all other issues of the bilateral relationship.
The President will probably suggest that signing onto the major
treaties (CTBT, FMCT) would be what the U.S. desires, but the
absence of that will not foil the visit. This is a shift from
prior U.S. policy toward the region; we ought to closely watch
what sorts of responses this approach elicits. Regarding Kashmir,
the President will express concern and will reiterate the offer
for the U.S. to assist if both parties so desire, but he will
not suggest any situation of forced mediation.
Pakistan
In the coming months, the best gauge of progress will be the extent to which we see greater business engagement and a surge of new exchange and cooperative programs with India. The Singh-Talbott talks will continue; a new forum for governance and democracy is being launched by the US National Endowment for Democracy in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry. A sure sign of the visit's success would be the development of frequent and sustained high-level contacts between India and the U.S., such as cabinet level visits, ongoing consultations, dialogue on global and regional security issues. Ultimately, the institutionalization of dialogues and exchanges -- such as what the US has with China -- will mark a successful shift in relations with India.
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/sa/index.html As President Clinton prepares for his trip to South Asia, Human Rights Watch urges that he give priority to pressing human rights issues in the region. As President Clinton prepares for his trip to South Asia, Human Rights Watch urges that he give priority to pressing human rights issues in the region. The President's upcoming visit represents a unique opportunity to engage the Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi governments on these issues and to use his influence to support individuals and groups in the region struggling for democratic institutions and human rights. Full briefings appear on the Human Rights Watch website at http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/sasia
http://www.pak.gov.pk/ (includes section on U.S. President's visit to Pakistan at: http://pak.gov.pk/temp/index-us.htm )
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