Counting billions
Presidential visits should not be judged solely on the investment commitments they produce
US President Barack Obama has left India with promises of $4 billion in loans and investments. Now, presidential visits should not be judged solely on the investment commitments they produce. The progress made on the nuclear deal is significant. There were also promises to extend collaboration in several areas.
But it is still interesting to compare what Obama has promised with the results of two other key meetings that Narendra Modi initiated after becoming prime minister, since those numbers were given such prominence. Japanese premier Shinzo Abe committed to investments of $35 billion in Indian infrastructure over the next five years. Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised $20 billion of investments over five years. What Obama has promised is much smaller in comparison. Of course, unlike Japan and China, the US does not use local firms, banks and official agencies to invest directly in its strategic partners, but the numbers are interesting nevertheless.
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