CHICAGO: In light of growing cultural and business relations between India and Illinois, a meet between Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and India’s new Ambassador to the United States, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, is seen by many as a milestone that would further boost these ties in coming years.
Indian Ambassador Jaishankar was in Chicago last week on a very short visit and Governor Quinn extended a hearty welcome to him on February 28. During a meet at Governor’s office in Chicago Downtown, they discussed trade opportunities between Illinois and India. Governor Quinn in his remark said that he represented 200,000 Illinois residents of Indian descent and was “looking forward to a long and productive relationship with the newly installed Ambassador.”
Governor Quinn also observed that “as the world’s largest democracy and one of its oldest civilizations, India has many lessons to share. It was an honor to meet the new Ambassador, and we had a fruitful and enjoyable dialogue.”
Governor Quinn also noted that he marches every year in Chicago’s India Independence Day Parade on Devon and that the 2013 parade was the biggest ever. He hopes Ambassador Jaishankar can visit Illinois again next August for the 2014 Parade.
The trade between India and Illinois has been growing over the past few years pushing Illinois as the sixth largest exporter to India among 50 States in USA. Its rank was 7th as the largest importer from India. The bulk of the trade covered chemicals, machinery and agriculture related items, according to sources close to the Governor’s office.
There is bigger scope now for higher level of technological collaborations and tie ups in coming years, it is believed.
The Ambassador had meetings with the Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, Senator Dick Durbin, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel besides Governor Pat Quinn. He had a chance to meet other elected officials and US lawmakers – Secretary of State Jesse White, Lt. Governor Shiela Simon, Congressman Danny Davis and Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky and Robin KKelly, uring a reception hosted by Indian Consul General in Chicago
IP News Bureau adds:
Earlier, Indian Ambassador addressed an elite meet at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in Chicago in Downtown Chicago and pointed out that there were no major hurdles to overcome in Indo-US relationship saying that efforts are directed rather at coping with the challenges of normalcy.
“We have no great problem in our ties to solve, nor a crisis to defuse. There is no big idea either in the works with a transformational potential. So, in an era where the news cycle becomes a barometer of ties, this has led to the relationship dropping off the radar, and being left to political operatives, instant market analysts and social media,” Jaishankar said.
“Since they have become arbiters of the state of international relations, life is apparently defined by extreme outcomes. Our ties, for good or bad, are however currently positioned in the median zone. The rest of us – who think seriously about long-term strategic relations – therefore, have a problem on our hands,” he added.
Detailing some irritants, Jaishankar said that an incident involving an Indian diplomat in New York, the downgrading of India’s aviation safety status, attacks on pharmaceutical industry, the US filing a WTO complaint on India’s solar industry and Congressional hearings on market access in India come easily to his mind.
Though important and quite significant, these problems could not be construed as insurmountable road blocks and are not representative of the totality of Indo- US ties. ‘What they actually do is to present a skewed picture of what is being built on a solid foundation of converging interests,” he said.
The Indo-US relationship needs to be worked upon at different levels. “We are approaching a defining moment where choices made would have significant implications for India of course, but for the United States and the world as well.
Pressing issues on agenda require a good give and take. But while doing so, we must not lose sight of the larger connect that provides an enabling environment where more ambitious visions could unfold,” he added.
Touching upon Indian elections, he observed that any “government coming into office after general elections will naturally put nation building as its first priority. Encouraging investment, expanding manufacturing, modernizing infrastructure, enhancing skills development, upgrading technology and promoting innovation will continue to be top priority and the partnership with USA would be indispensable, he said adding that nothing could be taken for granted and need be to assiduously tended by gardeners.
“The sensible thing to do is to switch to a problem-solving mode and iron out current wrinkles in the India-US relationship.”
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
