May 11, 2006

Dr. Walter Andersen
Associate Director of the South Asia Studies Program; Professorial Lecturer
Johns Hopkins University

Topic:  India and the United Stated: A New Strategic Relationship.

The lecture of Dr. Walter Andersen, Associate Director of South Asia Studies, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) was by all accounts one of the most informative and timely ELF function of the year. The recently retired chief of the U.S., Department of South Asia Division in the Office of Analysis offered a comprehensive analysis on why the end of the Cold War presented the U.S. and India with new opportunities for close cooperation. Dr. Andersen pointed out that, from the U.S. perspective, India is in a position to manage an emerging China in Asia. It can keep open the Indian Ocean lanes over which pass critical resources like oil and gas from the Persian Gulf, and assist in containing international terrorism, a goal that is of enormous importance to the U.S. The U.S. is providing sophisticated military items for sale to India, and has concluded a nuclear deal which has a new security approach toward India.

Understandably, the market reform of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh provides important investment markets. The potential scope of building up infrastructure in India is enormous and offers investment opportunities to American investors.

Dr. Andersen closed his very well-received lecture by underlining that a close U.S. cooperation with India would affect the balance of power in our favor in Asia.