Euphoria has not even started to subside. It would take further time. The man with his irresistible charm sent waves of delight to the Indian rulers as well as business and industrial community and they still bask in those glorious moments when he was very much among them. The other day he dashed to Indonesia where he in his childhood days spent two years with his mother and second father, an Indonesian, spent under difficult circumstances. Hence his visit to Indonesia has an added significance apart from being the leader of a powerful country where he will be supposed to deal with bilateral relations, business promotion inviting investments to USA. At the moment, Indonesia is the current chairman of ten member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and many business pacts are certainly to be inked. The duration of his stay in Indonesia is believed to be curtailed since the threat of a fuming volcano spewing out smoke and ashes are about to erupt at any moment. After bidding adieu to Indonesia, its head Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the people of Indonesia, he is slated to fly to Japan where Japanese PM Naoto Kan is ready with the red-carpet to be unfolded to him, the first lady Michelle and the entire team.
One thing worth mentioning here is unlike in the past, this time an American President's visit to Asian countries in fact is by standing on a sticky wicket, thanks to the unprecedented recession of 2008. The travails of the recession still remaining and as the noted journalist Pankaj Mishra wrote, Obama's visit to Asian countries is at a time when its influence the world over is showing a declining trend. Hence though keeping his head held high without showing his piquant position infront of anyone - even without he mentioning about it - all nations are aware of his predicament his loosening hold on the internal situation in US as a result of the recent election debacle losing the Congress to the Republicans and notwithstanding the Senate standing with him with a reduced majority he is infact a lame-duck President as of now. All his future reform plans rest on the mercy of the Grand Old Party which is bent upon scuttling his plans, although his reform plans are for the benefit of the people of his nation. Hence the coming two years are to him like walking over fire.
On the external front, however as a true patriot he is concentrating on improving the relationships with the Asian countries and with that purpose in mind, he has plunged into a travel programme covering four Asian countries.
On the one side while his travel programmes go on, on the other side the G20 countries, the developed as well as developing countries like India are going to meet at Seoul, the Capital of South Korea from Nov 11 - 12. The agenda include mainly 'partnership growth beyond the crisis' besides other items, all important in its own way like promoting the economy, economic stability, business, trade development, climate-change and the reforms to be brought about among the international financial organisations like IMF and World Bank and the terrorist menace - one which in recent years has grabbed a salient position in almost all international conferences.
The developed nations US and European nations including keep a special interest in the G20 Summit than the Asian countries unlike in the past. As long as economy remains supreme, it will remain supreme always, each country will have prominent interest especially at a moment when those countries due to one reason or other suffer, taste the bitter fruits arising out of a situation, expected or unexpected.
For example, developed nations still undergoing the aftermath a worst economic recession, to put each one's house in order has introduced austerity measures on a vast scale affecting the masses adversely, especially the the employees of respective country. Massive cut in salaries, reducing pension amount as also hiking the retirement age, invited the wrath of the workers across European nations like Greece, Spain, France, England, all on the boil with no respite in sight. Skilled workers to non-skilled workers, Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Postal workers, Railway employees and even students joining them to express solidarity with the striking lot going on the rampage leading to violent clashes with law-enforcing agencies. Pity, all these countries are in a pathetic situation and much tears not being shed by the world, since this economic recession was their own making, their own undoing. An unregulated free-market economy might prove a grand success for a certain period and entire edifice could crumble down at any moment later.
As the noted economist, Paul Krugman sarcastically pointed out, it is pay-back time for the emerging Asian economies to US and from his words we can very well assume the plight of US economy. Similar is the case with the European economies, since in the contemporary period, everything is interlinked and hence like a chain reaction, it affects each and every nations.
At Seoul, one demand from the part of Asian and East Asian nations certain to be raked up will be the need of overhauling the structure of International Aid agencies like IMF and World Bank. The reins of these agencies are in th hands of Western countries like US and European nations, though the demand was very much in the air this time the Western nations will have to make a climb-down as the Asian nations are speaking from a position of strength.
Similarly the all encompassing terrorist menace certainly to comeup and the ways and measures checks and balances, all are certain to come up for discussion.
China, unlike any other Asian nation is on strenuous pursuit for gaining an upper hand over US and US is very much aware of it and add to this China's growing influence across the world a potential threat to America.
In fact, not only China, all nations like US and European nations in the changed world scenario are competing with one another and to illustrate this point let me point out the recent visit of Chinese President Hu-Jintao to France, and the cordial talks transpired between Hu and French President Nicholas Sarkozy and the various topics they touched upon, pact worth billions of dollars signed, all grabbed international importance. France's sorrow over India holding on to the coat-tails of US notwithstanding France's unqualified support to India for the permanent membership of United Nations Security Council and the offer of nuclear energy co-operation pact with India without any strings attached unlike US was reportedly made public by French authorities.
An interesting scenario worth observing where each nation trying to befriend a potential country is visible across the world. Otherwise these are times of leaders turning charming diplomats, the underlying factor however economic interests, to be specific economic self-interest.
Let's assume the 5th G20 Summit at Seoul, South Korea, might turn out to be a mile-stone in the days to come.
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