Ties under Obama administration

Despite much gains in Indo-American relations during the tenure of the Bush administration, India was not one of the Asian countries U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited in February 2009. The Foreign Policy magazine reported that even though Foreign Policy Staff of the previous administration had recommended India as a "key stop" during any such official tour of Asia, Hillary Clinton had struck New Delhi from her itinerary.

The exclusion of India from the Asian tour was regarded as a "mistake" by some analysts. India was not even mentioned once in the Obama administration's official foreign policy agenda. Former US ambassadorRobert D. Blackwill warned that Indo-US relations faced a "downgrade" in the short term, as the Obama administration places China "on a substantially higher plane in US diplomacy than India". However, he remained optimistic about the long-term prospects for Indo-US relationship. The Forbes magazine alerted U.S. President Barack Obama on the need to prevent United States' new-found alliance with India from erosion.

The initial approach of the Obama administration towards ties with India raised concerns of a downturn in Indo-American relations. In an editorial, the National Interest suggested that the Obama administration could possibly damage "the foundations underlying the geostrategic partnership" between India and the United States. Another editorial published by the Taipei Times highlighted the importance of India-U.S. relations and urged Barack Obama to give "India the attention it deserves". Terming India to be United States' "indispensable ally", the Christian Science Monitor argued that the Obama administration needs India's cooperation on several issues, including climate change, Afghanistan war and energy security and therefore, Obama cannot risk putting ties with India on "back-burner".

In an attempt to bolster relations between the two countries, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India in the second half of July 2009. Calling India a "key partner" of the United States, Clinton said that the United States wants India "to succeed as an anchor for regional and global security". She also mentioned four platforms for building future U.S.-India relationship — "global security, human development, economic activity, science and technology".