New Delhi, India: June 28, 2009 – IR Summary/The Hindu – US National Security Adviser General James L.Jones (Retd), has come to India with a clear message from US President Obama that his country wants not only to continue the usual bilateral relationship but also further likes to build it up, and at the same time brought his invitation for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit United States.

Against the backdrop of declining Indian expectations about the future of the bilateral relationship with the United States in the post-George W. Bush era, the seniormost Obama official to visit here to date delivered a big message tailored to make his hosts happy: “We intend to continue where the previous administration left off.”

In his first visit to India, U.S. National Security Adviser General James L. Jones (retd.) held extensive discussions on Friday with M. K. Narayanan, National Security Adviser, besides meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony. He also formally conveyed President Barack Obama’s invitation to Dr. Singh to visit the White House this fall.

In his meetings, Indian officials told The Hindu, Gen. Jones’s focus was on the big picture. “The broad message General Jones brought with him was that they want to continue what was done earlier and build up the relationship,” an official said. Topics covered included the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and terrorism. A U.S. embassy release noted that the two sides also talked about the post-election situation in Iran, energy and developing closer economic and trade links as well as defence ties between India and the U.S.

Asked whether the U.S. side had also sought to push India towards a dialogue on Kashmir with Pakistan —something the Pakistani Prime Minister’s office had advertised General Jones’s mission to include — the officials said this was not the case. “I think the American effort, in fact, was to bracket us with the larger set of global issues and see what we can do together, rather that to narrow the bracket to the region,” said an official. “Afghanistan and Pakistan also came up, but mainly because of our security concerns.”

 The official press release issued after the visit said General Jones had conveyed President Obama’s commitment to “expanding bilateral relations in all areas, and the importance attached by the U.S. Administration in working with India in shaping events in the twenty first century at the regional and global level.”

Speaking to The Hindu, Mike Hammer, spokesman of the U.S. National Security Council — the White House inter-agency coordination body and ‘think tank’ which General Jones heads — said the NSC had recently been restructured to enable a more focused approach to India.More