Obama sees 'win-win' relationship with India

Obama sees 'win-win' relationship with India
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Bhupendra Khansagra of India's Spice Jet, right, shakes hands with President Obama as he holds a roundtable discussion with business leaders in Mumbai, India, Saturday.
Enlarge image Enlarge By Charles Dharapak, AP
Bhupendra Khansagra of India's Spice Jet, right, shakes hands with President Obama as he holds a roundtable discussion with business leaders in Mumbai, India, Saturday.



By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY
MUMBAI, India — On the first day of his four-nation Asia swing, President Obama played statesman and salesman Saturday as he paid tribute to the victims and survivors of 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India's commercial capital, and announced $10 billion in business deals.

After bruising mid-term elections Tuesday that highlighted voter anger over the U.S. economy, Obama aides pressed the domestic benefits of foreign policy. The new deals, ranging from the sale of Boeing jumbo jets to the local manufacture of Harley-Davidson motorbikes, will support 54,000 U.S. jobs, said Mike Froman, deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs.

Arriving just before 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, Obama and first lady Michelle made their first appointment a visit to the memorial at the city's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel to the 166 people killed in 2008 at several locations across the city, including the Taj, where the first couple are also staying.

Obama spelled out the message he said he was making by choosing Mumbai, and the Taj, as his first stop, rather than the capital Delhi, where he travels Sunday. "In our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the United States and India stand united," he said.

Yet his speech at the Taj disappointed some Indians, who criticized Obama for not mentioning Pakistan even once. Extremists based in Pakistan, a major U.S. ally in anti-terror operations, are blamed for the 2008 attacks. "I expected a much stronger response," complained M.N. Singh, a former police commissioner, on the CNN-IBN news channel, where commentators decried Obama's failure to use "the P-word".

Obama then visited a museum in a home where Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, whom he has called a personal hero, once lived. After meeting with Indian business leaders, Obama spoke to the U.S.-India Business Council about what he called a "win-win" relationship. India and the USA should share "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century," he said.

Obama: Gandhi is hero to the world

Among over 200 cheerleading U.S. CEOs also visiting India for the Obama trip, Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, spoke Saturday about what she called "very tangible benefits on both sides in the form of fueling investment and promoting job creation." The nation's huge, and young, population "make India a terrific investment opportunity for the United States," she said. "So we see India as a growth market on its own but also we see it as a market that keeps the overall PepsiCo machine going."

Money-making was also on the minds of many Mumbai residents Saturday, as they marked the fourth day of the important Diwali festival by visiting the city's famous temple to Mahalaxmi, the goddess of wealth. With offerings of lotus flowers, coconuts and sweets, they prayed for prosperity – and pleaded for clean government.

"All Indian politicians are corrupt, they promise a lot but don't deliver," spat Vipul Savla, owner of a suit-making business. "Obama too will make promises, but can he deliver?" asked Savla, 32. As India's economy has boomed so has his small firm, with 15% annual growth in the past five years, said Salva. His wholesale price for a suit has risen from $8 to $12.5 in that time, making him "confident and comfortable" about the future, he said.

"We don't need America, we are powerful now, and we stand on our own," chimed in Dharmendra Bhatt, boss of a realty agency. Bhatt echoed widespread concerns here that the USA supports Pakistan without taking effective action to curb Pakistan-based terrorism. He also opposes the opening up of Indian markets to U.S. firms, one of Obama's avowed aims. "The USA is afraid of India's economic growth, and they know we will be the no.1 economy in the future," said Bhatt.

While many Mumbai citizens expressed a warm welcome to the U.S. President, despite the traffic restrictions his visit brings, a group of left-leaning parties organized an anti-Obama protest Saturday. The small but noisy demo, comprising about 40 protestors, was headed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). "The President of America is no friend of India or the undeveloped countries," said K.L. Bajaj, a party central committee member. "The USA wants to exploit India politically and economically. Our government is moving too close to the U.S. government and we condemn this," said Bajaj, 76.