Personal relations between leaders have a long tradition in international diplomacy.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi readies to take part in his first summit with US President Barack Obama, pundits and the media have focused a good deal of attention on their encounter, billed as one that would seek to detangle the relationship and reenergize the strategic partnership.

There is speculation about whether the two leaders will be able to have an honest conversation and establish a good personal equation to find common ground while advancing their respective national interests and shape international politics.

On Monday evening, Obama will host a private dinner over which they will meet and talk, and that will be followed by bilateral meetings on Tuesday at the Oval Office. It is their first meeting in person and there is expectation that both will really get to know each other and exchange ideas about how best to resolve concerns and reset ties that in recent years have developed many wrinkles.

Although countries act according to their national interests, says Ashley J Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment, "the quality of the personal relations between leaders makes a difference to the way in which they conduct foreign policy. And especially between friendly nations, such as the United States and India, relationship make a huge difference to whether the outcomes of summits are prosaic or momentous. Modi's first order of business in the United States, then, consists of building a strong connection with Obama, of the kind the prime minister enjoys with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe."

The two leaders have some things in common. Both have risen from modest background and are good communicators, known for their oratory, and seen as "purposeful". Their administrations have made infrastructure building central to their development agendas. Modi had successfully adopted some of the election strategies of the 2012 Obama campaign. And Obama had reached out to Modi after the 2014 general election in India.

Officials from both sides say the Modi-Obama conversation will be more honest and wide-ranging, and less talking past each other. There would be strong focus on clean energy, a pet theme of both, defence and security issues and counter-terrorism. "The two leaders I believe will be focused on concrete outcomes because that's how we make progress for both our nations... But more importantly, this is the first time that the two leaders will have an opportunity to meet, and within that, they will be sharing their perspectives on the vision of the relationship and for the path forward," said a senior Obama administration official.

src:sify.com