India is moving out of the domain of specialists and into that of the general and strategic foreign policy-makers in the United States, a US foreign policy expert said on Friday.
This is because India is no longer seen as part of a region, but as a building block of economy for south-east Asia, Walter Russell Mead, expert on US foreign policy, said at a seminar in Kolkata.
"India's technology is improving and it is becoming a partner to the US at the high end, and not as a labour-provider", Mead said.
However, India still gets only one-tenth part of foreign investment that China gets from the US.
India is still very dogmatic about certain issues, Mead pointed out.
He said that even though India is attracting foreign investment mostly in the hi-tech and information sectors, these cannot provide jobs for too many.
"Manufacturing, therefore, is the key", said Mead.
He also felt there is a need to improve general notions about the US in India. Educational exchange might play a pivotal role in this direction, he added.
Mead, however, said on a more positive note that India is looked upon as a 'grown-up' in the region, a country that has shown a lot more patience than a lot of other nations.
"India's strong economy makes it a powerful nation", he said.
India has dropped its psychological baggage that caused the inhibition of being taken over by the trading Americans, said Mead.
The addressing of infrastructure bottlenecks is also helping India in getting foreign investments, he felt.
"India must start looking at the East more than it has done before to reassert its presence and interest and to build a co-operation network", said Mead.
The smaller countries in Asia want more international participation in their trade markets and India should avail this opportunity, felt Mead.
He also said Indo-Japan relations too need to be improved in the 21st century.
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