One day after the government of India made the decision to cease negotiations with American companies in a $10 billion contract to supply 126 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, the United States Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer announced his resignation.
Although some are speculating that Roemer’s announcement was related to the failure to capture a U.S. contract, sources close to Roemer say he has been discussing of stepping down for a couple of months now, notes the
Economic Times.
“When I accepted this job two years ago, I told President (Barack) Obama that I would serve for two years but that family considerations would be front and centre after that,” said Roemer in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy, reports the
Agence-France Presse. “The US-India relationship -- what my friend President Obama calls the defining partnership of the 21st century – has progressed to the global stage.”
The
Telegraph India reports that the U.S. Embassy in India was officially notified Wednesday that
Lockheed Maritn’s F-16 and
Boeing’s 18 Super Hornet were rejected. Though not official, Indian officials have stated in private conversation that they prefer
France’s Dassault Aviation and a four-nation European consortium, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) in the final round of discussions.
What will Roemer do following June? Some who know Roemer believe that since the six-term Indian Congressman felt as if he was being “sidelined” he wanted to get back into mainstream politics by assisting in President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
“I hear he wanted to get back to active politics,” said senior fellow in the U.S. studies program with New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation, Harinder Sekhon, reports the
Los Angeles Times.
U.S. and India relations were hostile for years until President Bill Clinton strengthened their relationship and President George W. Bush continued that friendship.
