Natural Allies

A blueprint for the future of U.S.-India relations

by Richard L. Armitage, R. Nicholas Burns and Richard Fontaine, Center for a New American Security, October 18, 2010

Download report at http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/CNAS_Natural%20Allies_ArmitageBurnsFontaine.pdf

The economic, political, and military rise of India is reshaping world politics and promises to make India both a true global power and one of the most important bilateral partners of the United States. This report, authored by former Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns and CNAS Senior Fellow Richard Fontaine – and endorsed by over 20 esteemed foreign policy experts - provides a blueprint for the path forward for this critical relationship.

"The recommendations in this report are based on the belief that the United States has an interest in working more closely with India and in assisting its further emergence as one of the world’s great powers," the authors write. "This will require policy changes by both the United States and India. Many of these changes will be difficult, and some differences may endure. But the potential gain is worth the effort. Now is a critical time in this partnership, a moment to transform past bilateral accomplishments into regional and global successes. We urge American and Indian leaders to seize it."

Watch an exclusive video with co-author and CNAS Senior Fellow Richard Fontaine on the critical aspects of the report.

Natural Allies recommends that the United States give concrete meaning to the phrase "strategic partnership" by deepening relations and strengthening collaboration in a number of areas, including: protecting and preserving access to the global commons; countering terrorism and violent extremism; ensuring access to global energy resources; bolstering the international nonproliferation regime; promoting democracy and human rights; and fostering greater stability, security and economic prosperity in South Asia. A series of working papers focused on several of these areas are also available for download at www.cnas.org:

•    Unleashing U.S.-India Defense Trade
By Kenneth I. Juster, Ajay Kuntamukkala

•    America's Interests in India
By Marshall M. Bouton

•    India, the United States and the Global Commons
By C. Raja Mohan

•    The United States and India 10 Years Out
By Teresita C. Schaffer

•    The Strategic Implications of Indo-U.S. Private Sector Ties
By Rajiv Kumar

 
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