CNAS Rolls Out Project on Future of U.S.-India Relationship

Washington, DC, January 21, 2010 — CNAS is pleased to announce the launch of the U.S.-India Initiative [1] co-chaired by Richard Armitage and Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns.  The project will lay a blueprint for the next phase of the U.S.-India relationship and advance growing bilateral ties in areas including security, economics, energy and climate change, and democracy and human rights.

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The project is co-chaired by CNAS Board of Directors members Richard Armitage [3], former Deputy Secretary of State, and Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns [4], former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Over the course of 2010, the CNAS U.S.-India Initiative [1] will convene high-level bipartisan discussions with policymakers and members of the private sector and produce a series of papers – including a major report authored by Armitage and Burns – that will help lay out a strategic framework for the future of the U.S.-India relationship.

“India’s growing economic, political, and military power will ensure its spot as both a true global player and one of America’s most important bilateral partners,” said project lead and Senior Fellow Richard Fontaine [5], who handled foreign policy, including Asian affairs, for Senator John McCain, the National Security Council, and the State Department. “The goal of the CNAS U.S.-India Initiative is to help translate this reality into a sophisticated strategy of engagement and a series of policies that will reap the gains of our growing ties.”

Last week in New Delhi, CNAS launched the U.S.-India Initiative [1] at an event co-hosted by the Aspen Institute India. The event featured Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and a distinguished group of American and Indian experts, including: CNAS Board of Directors Chairman Dr. Richard Danzig [6] and member Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns, CNAS Board of Advisors member Mr. Tobby Simon [7], Aspen Institute India President Tarun Das, Indian Express Columnist C. Raja Mohan, CNAS CEO Nathaniel Fick [8], and CNAS Senior Fellows Richard Fontaine [5] and Robert Kaplan [9].  See pictures from the event here. [10]

“The launch of the U.S.-India Initiative by the Center for a New American Security is a welcome development,” said Foreign Secretary Rao. “If we look at the world today and our relations, it is clear that never before has there been such a convergence of interests or a need for a coordinated approach between India and the United States on some of the biggest challenges facing us.”

Read Foreign Secretary Rao’s full remarks here.
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The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) [12] is an independent and nonpartisan research institution that develops strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies that promote and protect American interests and values. CNAS leads efforts to help inform and prepare the national security leaders of today and tomorrow.