US-India Relations: Year of Expectations

Washington sent some mixed signals to India over 2018 – achieving signal defense and security cooperation even as troubled waters roiled over the H-1B visa that brings mostly Indian techies to the United States. The “2+2” ministerial dialogue reserved only for Washington’s closest strategic partners, the highlight of the bilateral relationship in 2018, kick-started in September. It concluded with the Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), characterized as “a big deal” by South Asia experts, including Jeff Smith of the Heritage Foundation and Walter Andersen, former head of the South Asian Studies department at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. The people-to-people relationship received a fillip with the visit of a 7-member bipartisan Congressional delegation to India April 4-7, at the invitation of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. The delegation included Congressmen Pete Olson, R-Texas, Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, Drew Ferguson, R-Georgia, and Tom Suozzi, DNY; and Congresswomen Terry Sewell, D-Alabama, Dina Titus, D-Nevada, and Brenda Lawrence, D-Michigan.