In the run-up to the U.S presidential polls, when bilateral diplomatic activity was expected to taper off, South Block logged as many as a dozen delegations from Washington between September 25 and end-October. Four of these were headed by cabinet minister-level officials.
Even just a couple of days before the Americans went to the polls, U.S. diplomats landed in Delhi for a trilateral meeting with Japan and the U.S. Simultaneously, senior officials from the Pentagon arrived with a U.S. Navy complement that was to conduct joint exercises with the Indian Navy. “The relationship now is truly institutional in character. Regardless of the transition, the momentum would have continued. With Barack Obama’s re-election, many of the faces will remain the same,” said a senior diplomat.
