NEW DELHI // The US secretary of state John Kerry on Thursday began a mission to build ties with a new Indian government, but fresh rifts over trade and spying cast a shadow.
On his first visit since India’s April-May elections, Mr Kerry said he was “excited” about new Prime Minister Narendra Modi and believed his “historic mandate” offered a chance for new US-India cooperation.
“The moment has never been more ripe to deliver on the incredible possibilities of the relationship between our nations,” Mr Kerry said after talks with key ministers.
“The United States and India can and should be indispensable partners for the 21st century.”
India’s foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, said the Modi government saw “great potential for the United States as a global partner” and would welcome a “much more robust American presence” in the long-closed Indian economy.
Mr Kerry arrived in Delhi late on Wednesday for a three-day visit that also aims to lay the groundwork ahead of Mr Modi’s own trip to the US in September.
Mr Kerry is scheduled to meet Mr Modi on Friday. On Thursday, he met India’s defence and finance minister Arun Jaitley, before touring a campus of the Indian Institute of Technology, one of India’s top engineering colleges.
Later in the day, he co-chaired the fifth India-US strategic dialogue alongside Ms Swaraj. The dialogue, which discusses cooperation across a gamut of sectors ranging from energy to education, began during the tenure of former US president George W Bush but was formally re-initiated by president Barack Obama in 2010.
Part of Mr Kerry’s implicit agenda is to build ties with Mr Modi – a man whom the United States held complicit in deadly anti-Muslim riots during his chief ministership of Gujarat in 2002, and who was thus denied a visa to visit America. The United States has, since Mr Modi’s election, assured India that he would now receive a visa.
Mr Kerry said after his arrival that he was eager to strengthen ties with India in general, given how temperamental the relationship has been over the past few years.
“We want a new relationship,” he told the NDTV channel. “We want to see things move in a very positive way ... We are excited about prime minister Modi’s direction ... We think there’s a lot that the United States and India can work on together.”
Trade between India and America has increased almost fivefold since 2000, to more than US$96 billion (Dh352.6bn) in 2013. India has invested a total of $9bn in the US, while the US has invested nearly $28bn in India.
But relations have been strained by other factors: a fracas over the arrest of a junior Indian diplomat in New York last year; India’s slowness in accommodating American commercial interests; and the revelations that America’s National Security Agency snooped on Indian entities, including Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Raising the issue at the joint press conference with Mr Kerry, Ms Swaraj said she had told the top US diplomat and his aides that Indians were “angry” about the alleged spying.
“I also told them that if we consider each other friendly countries, it is unacceptable that a friendly country spies on other friendly nations,” she told a joint news conference.
Mr Kerry said he could not comment about specific allegations but he insisted that US President Barack Obama had made “unprecedented” efforts to ensure better oversight of intelligence.
However, trade is likely to top the agenda during Mr Kerry’s visit, which began as a deadline loomed for India to accept a key World Trade Organisation deal that it is insisting on having amended.
“Kerry’s main agenda here will involve boosting trade,” said Pradeep Mehta, a former member of a WTO trade panel and now the secretary general of a Jaipur-based economic research NGO. “But it’s difficult. Both countries have too many red lines.”
The US, for instance, would want enhanced intellectual property protections in a bilateral trade pact with India, Mr Mehta said. But India would resist this because it would restrict its exports of generic drugs to American markets and its imports of cutting-edge defence technology from the US.
In an article in the Economic Times newspaper on Wednesday, Mr Kerry and the US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker wrote that the India-US partnership “is on the cusp of an historic transformation”.
But they also warned India against backing away from the WTO deal that eases trade restrictions. “India must decide where it fits in the global trading system. Its commitment to a rules-based trading order and its willingness to fulfill its obligations will be a key indication.”
This was a reference to a U-turn by Mr Modi’s new government on a WTO trade facilitation agreement that the previous Indian administration had agreed to last December. The agreement streamlines customs regulations and is expected to add a trillion-dollar stimulus to the world economy.
India now seeks to link the implementation of this trade deal to the progress of a food security programme that would allow it to continue providing agriculture subsidies and stockpile food, despite WTO norms to the contrary.
Mr Kerry and Ms Pritzker pressed India to agree to the trade deal before midnight yesterday, when the deadline to bring the trade protocol into the WTO’s framework was due to lapse.
Mr Kerry said on Thurday that the United States was “very sensitive” to India’s needs but that the customs agreement reached in Bali provided adequate safeguards.
“We do not dismiss the concerns India has about large numbers of poor people who require some sort of food assurances,” he said.
Mr Mehta pointed out that deadlines “pass by all the time. If the protocol isn’t passed today, it can be passed next week or next month.”
India’s stand on the WTO deal drew on historical precedent, Mr Mehta said. “Rich countries have always put issues of their interest on the fast track, and the issues of interest to poor countries are not even discussed.”
But he admitted that India’s U-turn had left it isolated. Even other developing countries and peers “such as South Africa quietened down and agreed to the trade deal”.
ssubramanian@thenational.ae
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
'O'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zeina%20Hashem%20Beck%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20112%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Penguin%20Books%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info:
Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
Results
Stage 4
1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma 04:16:13
2. Gaviria (COL) UAE Team Emirates
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
General Classification:
1. Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 16:46:15
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:35
4. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5. Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 100 ) US$175,000 1,200m
Winner: Baccarat, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (78-94) $60,000 1,800m
Winner: Baroot, Christophe Soumillon, Mike de Kock
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 $200,000 1,600m
Winner: Heavy Metal, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.15pm: Handicap (95-108) $125,000 1,200m
Winner: Yalta, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 $200,000 1,800m
Winner: Promising Run, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,400m
Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
