India-US talks to focus on Afghanistan, economic ties

India and the United States open high-level talks this week, hoping to cement gains in a partnership still bedevilled by doubts despite vows of deeper political and economic cooperation.

Indian concerns focus on growing US ties with its arch-rival Pakistan -- a key player in the US-led war in Afghanistan -- while US officials will likely press for more progress in opening India's huge market to US companies in the energy, retail and education sectors.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and external affairs minister SM Krishna will each lead large government teams to the Washington meetings, which begin in earnest on Wednesday and move into high gear on Thursday.

US officials have repeatedly sought to reassure India that the bilateral relationship -- which blossomed under former President George W Bush -- remains on the fast track under his successor, US president Barack Obama.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh was Obama's first official state visitor in November, and Obama plans his own return visit to New Delhi later this year.

"India matters to the United States because it's the world's largest democracy," assistant secretary of state Robert Blake, the Obama administration's lead diplomat for India, told a news briefing.

"It has the world's second fastest growing economy and an economy that is a very important source of exports for United States companies, and also because it is an increasingly important partner for the United States in addressing common global concerns."

US officials cite progress on climate change, Iran and intelligence-sharing as hallmarks of the new cooperation.

But the partnership has come under strain in Afghanistan, where India is jostling with Pakistan for influence ahead of Washington's planned troop withdrawal to start in mid-2011.

The Obama administration has sent mixed signals over the role India should play in Afghanistan, leaving diplomats to beat back Indian fears that Pakistan's strategic interests could have more weight.

Analysts say these doubts point to a broader uncertainty over how the two giant democracies will move forward.

"Be it Iran, Pakistan, terrorism or nuclear issues, Washington had still not been able to figure out if India was part of the problem or solution," Uday Bhaskar of New Delhi-based think tank National Maritime Foundation.

"There is a sense of drift on both sides."

From the US perspective, there is frustration over the slow pace of major economic initiatives, including full implementation of a 2008 civilian nuclear cooperation deal that ended India's nuclear isolation since its 1974 atomic test.

US officials estimate the agreement could represent a $10 billion jackpot for US reactor builders such as General Electric Co. and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Japan's Toshiba Corp.

But while Singh said in November he saw no hurdles to full implementation of the deal, moves to set in place the legal framework have been slow and look likely to encounter further delay in the parliament.

Also moving slowly are Indian proposals to open up its $450 billion retail sector -- of huge interest to companies such as Wal-Mart Stores -- and to allow foreign universities to set up Indian campuses, a focus for top-tier US schools.

US defence giants Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co are watching hints that India may liberalise foreign direct investment in its defence equipment market, which could be worth $100 billion over the next 10 years.

Both companies are already bidding in India's $11 billion tender for 126 new fighter jets, which itself would be one of the largest arms deals in the world.

Political analysts say the economic payoffs may come eventually, but that the United States is learning it must be patient as India works at its own pace.

"There is considerable frustration," said Ashley Tellis, an India expert at the Carnegie Endowment think-tank. "We don't understand the dynamics of domestic Indian politics. My sense is that we will get what we want eventually, but it will never be in the first iteration."