Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Visit to the U.S.

En route to the United Nations annual meeting, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will stop in Washington. His brief visit comes at a turning point in India-U.S. relations. Washington has revived its strategic tie to Pakistan, the United States has taken a new interest in Afghanistan and South Asia, and such vexing issues as Kashmir continue to plague India-Pakistan relations and complicate American ties with each. This press briefing will cover these and related issues, including the slow growth of U.S.-Indian economic ties, once expected to be the “ballast” of a new relationship.

After the briefing, Brookings scholar Dr. Stephen P. Cohen’s new book, India: Emerging Power, will be released. This represents the first major publication of the India/South Asia project at Brookings. The book offers an assessment strengths and weaknesses of India, a nuclear-armed country with the second largest population in the world that has confounded observers by maintaining a democratic system for over 50 years against the greatest odds. India: Emerging Power serves as a timely introduction for American policymakers looking to develop a new relationship with a country rising to the ranks of the great powers.