There has been a certain element of surprise in India’s invitation to US President Barack Obama to be the first American to be a chief guest at the Republic Day parade next week. After all, he is now a lame-duck president of a country where both houses of Congress are in the control of the Opposition.

But, in democracies, foreign policies don’t change with a change in government. Perhaps there are changes in emphases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphatically indicated that good and close relations with the United States will form the core of his global policy. In the short time he has been in power, Modi has met Obama thrice — during his visit to the US in September, at the East Asia and G-20 summits in Myanmar and Australia respectively. An indication of his thrust are the close ties that the Modi government is building with two key Asia-Pacific allies of the US — Japan and Australia. China may be awash with investible cash, but so are Japanese and American private companies, and the Prime Minister hopes that his ambitious economic programme will find favour with them.