Robert Blake on Listening Tour in Af-Pak and India: But Region is Holbrooke’s Domain

When reporters at the State Department briefing Friday March 19 asked why Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake was visiting Pakistan and Afghanistan along with India when Af-Pak region was the domain of US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, the department spokesman Mr. Toner said they had different roles.

"Blake, I think, is just also trying to get a sense of what's going on the ground so he can be better informed in his role," he said.

Being the special envoy Holbrooke had visited the region eight, nine times as "that's proper and right that he would do so," Toner said. "But that said, Assistant Secretary Blake is obviously engaged in that issue as well."

This is Blake's first visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan after becoming assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia last year. These countries so far had remained in the personal domain of Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Mr Richard Holbrooke
Robert Blake, who was America’s deputy chief of mission in New Delhi a couple of years ago before he was ambassador to Sri Lanka 2007-09, left Washington Wednesday, March 17 on an official tour in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and later to meet with his counterparts in the European Union in Brussels.

The United States says it is engaged in a common struggle with Pakistan and India against terrorism, it's encouraging all round cooperation through strategic dialogues with the two South Asian neighbors. Robert Blake is said to be visiting the region to get a feeler of the situation.

"We have a very rich, strategic dialogue with India," State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on Friday when asked about what the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao discussed with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her counterpart Undersecretary of State Bill Burns Tuesday.

Robert Blake, U.S. Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, is travelling to India during March 17-30, the State Department announced on Wednesday. He will also visit Afghanistan and Pakistan for the first time in his role as Assistant Secretary.

Focussing on U.S.-India business relations, Mr. Blake is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the Asia Society Corporate Conference in New Delhi on March 20 and hold consultations with Indian and American business representatives.

He will also use the visit to conduct discussions with his counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs “to prepare for the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue in Washington in early summer,” according to the State Department statement.

Mr. Blake's visit to Afghanistan will revolve around meetings with embassy officials in Kabul and local officials in Kunduz and discussions with the Provincial Reconstruction Team.

The statement said: “Assistant Secretary Blake will deliver a keynote address at the Asia Society Corporate Conference in New Delhi on March 20. He also will have consultations with Indian and American business representatives, and have discussions with his counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs to prepare for the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue in Washington in early summer.

“While in Afghanistan, the Assistant Secretary will meet with embassy officials in Kabul and then travel to Kunduz to meet with local officials and visit the Provincial Reconstruction Team.
In Pakistan, Assistant Secretary Blake will meet with federal and provincial officials, civil society representatives, religious leaders and business representatives in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore.

“Assistant Secretary Blake will hold consultations with EU counterparts in Brussels as part of our ongoing dialogue on South and Central Asia. “

On February 18 addressing the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in Chicago, Illinois on U.S. relations with India and the region Robert Blake spelled out the U.S. policy toward the region in this manner:

(Begin Quote): Strategic Cooperation

“The nuclear issue brings us to the final pillar of the Dialogue, which addresses strategic cooperation, including global issues, defense cooperation, counterterrorism, and non-proliferation.

“On the defense side, our bilateral exercise program continues to grow and to strengthen. We have a robust exercise program that has enabled us to enhance an already great military-to-military relationship with exercises such as Cope India, Malabar, and Shatrujeet.

Defense sales are also of great interest to American companies. We’ve already seen some very important defense sales just in the last year or two of C-130Js and P-8 maritime patrol aircraft.

“The Indian government also recently submitted a Letter of Request for ten C-17 aircraft worth about $2.5 billion. And that’s not the end of it.

“There are large numbers of important potential deals, up to $18 billion worth of new opportunities that will become available in the next several years, most notably the multi-role combat aircraft purchase which by itself is a roughly $10 billion sale in which two American companies -- Boeing, headquartered here in Chicago, and Lockheed Martin -- are competing.

That the Indians are now considering U.S. manufacturers and U.S. technology to meet their military aircraft requirements—which would have been unimaginable just ten years ago—is just one measure of how far and how rapidly our relationship is evolving.

“A critical component of the strategic cooperation framework is, of course, counterterrorism. You’ve seen our two countries cooperate more and more, particularly since the horrific November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which the Indians refer to as 26/11.

“Home Minister Chidambaram’s highly successful visit here last September, which gave him the opportunity to consult with senior officials in just about every U.S. agency involved in the all-important challenge of battling terrorism, underscored the breadth of our still-expanding cooperation on this crucial issue.

“When Prime Minister Singh visited Washington in November the two leaders stressed that our partnership in counterterrorism efforts is “indispensable for global peace and security,” and agreed on a Counterterrorism Initiative to strengthen our work together in this vital endeavor.

The last area in strategic cooperation is that of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Now this is an area where there’s a very different and more positive dynamic between our countries as a result of the civil nuclear deal.

“Prime Minister Singh also shares the President’s far-reaching vision for a nuclear weapons-free world.

“Our broader challenge is to strengthen the global non-proliferation system and I think this is an area where the United States and India can work more closely as partners.

“The Nuclear Security Summit President Obama will host in Washington in April, to which 43 nations have been invited and which we expect Prime Minister Singh will attend, provides an excellent opportunity to highlight this evolving partnership.

“In addition, the civil nuclear deal turned probably our most significant irritant in bilateral relations into an opportunity for cooperation. This has the potential to lead to billions of dollars worth of opportunities for American companies, and many thousands of jobs as a result of that. A few more steps are still required, and we expect them to be completed in the next few months.

Afghanistan and Pakistan

“Finally, because I know that you will ask me about it, let me add a few words regarding the regional dynamic between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“India, Pakistan and the U.S. all face the common threat of terrorism. While we would like to see India and Pakistan reach a stable relationship, they will do so on their terms at the appropriate time.

“At the same time, India has become a valuable, in fact a top five, contributor to Afghanistan’s reconstruction.

“India has contributed valuable assistance to Afghanistan’s reconstruction, both in infrastructure, such as construction of the Parliament building and highways, and humanitarian, such as food aid to 2 million schoolchildren. It has pledged over $1.2 billion in assistance.

“Few relationships around the world matter more to our collective future, or hold greater promise for constructive action on the challenges that matter most to all of us, than the partnership between the United States and India.

“That doesn’t mean that we will always agree, because we won’t.

“But together we can build on the solid foundation that already exists, an even stronger partnership that serves not only the interests of our two countries, but of the rest of the international community.

“The United States and India share common ideals and complementary strengths reflected in our very close people-to-people contacts, our shared embrace of democratic principles and our willingness to work together on issues that matter not only to us, but to the global community.” (End Quote)

- Asian Tribune -