Fareed Zakaria: India-US Ties Lacking Trusted Channel, Hurting Growth

India-US ties lacking effective "trusted" channel: Journalist Fareed Zakaria

New Delhi, July 17

In an interview with ANI, Zakaria spoke on a range of issues and said India needs the trade deal with the United States more than America does.

He said India and the US will have a stronger relationship due to converging strategic interests even though it's currently "in a bad state".

"It's (India-US relations) in bad shape....what is lacking is a trusted channel between India and Washington...there are many good arguments India can make and has been able to make in the past....But what is lacking is a trusted channel between India and Washington. And that has not, for some reason, been able to be established. And you can see the contrast very easily with Pakistan," he said.

"The Pakistanis have found a way to establish a trusted channel. Some of 'hera-pheri' around crypto and establishing a crypto connection. And I respect India for not doing that. India is a real democracy. It's a liberal democracy. There are constraints on India because it is a democracy," he added.

Zakaria, a columnist and author who hosts CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, also said the Islamabad MoU for establishing peace in the conflict between the US and Iran "is completely dead."

Iran and the US have renewed their hostilities and tensions have escalated in the Strait of Hormuz.

Answering a query, Zakaria said his gut is that US President Donald Trump backs out. "He has no fixed ideology. He just wants to be seen as a good President, I suspect he will find it easier to cut and run," he said.

He said the US will blink first. "I have been somewhat surprised by Iranian behaviour because they had effectively won," he added.

Asked if India could have given some credit to President Trump during Operation Sindoor, India could have put on a grand tamasha.

"...Something where you acknowledge we love the fact that you are playing a useful role but we don't need international arbitration."

Referring to the tariff issue, he said India needs America more than America needs India.

"You can sit on your Nehruvian high horse and be very sanctimonious, but the reality is India's growth depends on a good relationship with the US. The US growth does not depend on a good relationship with India. That means you have to hustle. You have to find the channel. You have to make some compromises. You have to accept half a loaf rather than one. And the reluctance to do this, I think, is hurting India and it's hurting Indian growth. It's hurting the average Indian whose standard of living is not rising," he said.

"...But within that, there are ways to find channels of diplomacy. India has done it in the past. You know, Prime Minister Modi is very good at that kind of thing. But there hasn't been enough of an effort," he added.

The Indian-American journalist further highlighted that whenever Trump has been asked about world leaders he admires, he frequently identified Prime Minister Modi as one of them.

Noting that the strategic necessity of counterbalancing China remains a bedrock of the relationship between India and the US, Zakaria affirmed that the potential for a strong, enduring partnership remains high.

"There is a strategic reality that has brought India and the US together, which is the rise of China. That isn't changing. That reality continues. And, you know, and then the two main factors, I think, bringing India and the US together, the strategic reality of the rise of China and the demographic reality of a large, you know, people-to-people connection between India and the US, the Indian-Americans and all that stuff. The people-to-people contact, the business-to-business contact. India is very much part of the English-speaking world in that sense. And so I suspect that there will be a much, much longer, stronger relationship, even though it's currently in a bad state," he stated.

— ANI