The forthcoming India-US Strategic Dialogue slated for June 1-4 is expected to hit the right notes though both sides are expected to touch on irritants bedevilling their relationship. India, on its part, plans to take up the sticky issue of certain institutions that remain in the US "entity list".
Though no immediate response from the US side is expected, the Indian delegation is likely to point out that the export administration regulations on entities which can be linked to nuclear weapons programmes needs to be looked at. The regulations restrict cooperation with institutions with regard to "dual use" technologies that have military applications.
The Indian institutions that remain on the entity list include Bharat Dynamics Limited (1 entity), DRDO (4 entities), DAE (3 entities and all nuclear reactor activity related entities, including power plants) and ISRO (8 entities).
The US is bound to ask about the progress of the civil liability for nuclear damage bill, another niggler among several trade and commerce issues. US President Barack Obama will initiate the meeting and is also expected to "drop in" at a dinner hosted by secretary of state Hillary Clinton which is seen to be a significant gesture.
The Indian side will be led by foreign minister S M Krishna and include HRD minister Kapil Sibal, MoS in PMO Prithviraj Chavan who also holds charge of science and technology and earth sciences and deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Clinton will be assisted by relevant cabinet ministers as both sides look to inject some momentum in their ties.
Despite continued American acknowledgement of the importance accorded to the bilateral relationship, it has been difficult to shake off the impression that ties have slowed if not floundered. The Obama administration's revised Af-Pak policy is only one reason for the hiatus -- the extraordinary warmth of the Bush years is a tough act to follow.
The strategic dialogue hopes to address some of the nitty-gritty of divergence while strengthening cooperation between the two sides over a gamut of issues including energy (especially solar power), agriculture, science and technology, health, education, defence and counter-terrorism. The cooperation on agriculture and energy are areas where India hopes to benefit from its strategic partnership.
On education, the dialogue is expected to focus on tapping US resources on skill development and schooling. Education could also be provided some emphasis on the India-US Business Council.
The entity list is an old bugbear and in some ways represents the problems that India has had with the US since the Cold War era. The bans on Indian institutions were clamped after the 1998 Pokhran-II tests but central to the disagreement has been India's nuclear programme. There was considerable progress on the entity list during the Bush administration with the Nuclear Suppliers Group exemption and the India-US nuclear deal ironing out the heart of the dispute over India's de facto nuclear weapons status.
Bush's 2001 proclamation lifting sanctions on India led to an amendment of the export administration regulations. The move saw restoration of the use of licence exceptions for sensitive items for entities not on the list. Licence review policy for items classified as 'EAR 99' - those subject to the regulations but not listed on the commerce control list - was also revised.
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