President Barack Obama announced $10 billion in business deals on Saturday as he arrived in India to boost U.S. exports and jobs after a mauling in mid-term polls, but he ran into immediate controversy over Pakistan. Obama flew into Mumbai, India’s financial hub, and announced the United States would also relax export controls over sensitive technology, a demand of India’s that will help deepen U.S. ties with the emerging global power and its trillion dollar economy.
Obama’s first act was to pay tribute to victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, but he was criticized for making no reference to India’s traditional foe Pakistan, which New Delhi blames for harboring anti-India militants. Pakistan-based militants killed 166 people in a 60-hour rampage through India’s financial hub, gunning down their victims at luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish center. India says elements in the Pakistan state were behind the attacks.
But Obama’s trip is also about business, with China now ahead of the United States in trade with India. The $10 billion in deals will support 54,000 jobs in the United States, White House aide Michael Froman said. The White House also announced Obama would support India’s membership of four global non-proliferation organizations, a move that will reassure New Delhi — left out of these groups after its 1998 nuclear tests — that Washington is recognizing its global clout.
He spends the night at the The Taj Hotel and flies to Delhi tomorrow afternoon. I expect a few more contracts to be settled with the 215 strong corporate leaders who make up the accompanying business delegation.
Tags: India, Obama visit to India, United States
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