Singh’s State Visit to Build on U.S.-India Relations
Washington " The state visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seen by the Obama administration as a new beginning for U.S.-India relations and a window to work on pressing issues, a senior U.S. diplomat says.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington — The state visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seen by the Obama administration as a new beginning for U.S.-India relations and a window to work on pressing issues, a senior U.S. diplomat says.
“This visit will be the first state visit of the administration and will highlight the strong and growing strategic partnership between the United States and India, and the friendship between the American and Indian people,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a recent prepared statement. “During the visit, the two leaders are expected to discuss a range of global, regional and bilateral issues of shared interest and common concern.”
The two leaders, who will meet at the White House November 24, will also likely review progress made in the strategic dialogue announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a visit to New Delhi in July, Gibbs said.
At a Washington Foreign Press Center briefing November 18, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake said the United States believes India has a role to play as a strong U.S. ally and partner across a range of global challenges, from economic dislocation to energy security, climate change, the spread of deadly weapons and terrorism.
“Both countries feel that we have a significant opportunity now to take our strategic partnership to the next level,” Blake said. Singh and the Congress Party won recent national elections in May, which gave them a strong mandate to proceed with the prime minister’s agenda, he added.
Blake, who is assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, said the U.S.-India relationship is based on five pillars beginning with strategic cooperation that includes arms sales, joint military exercises and joint military cooperation in combating maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.
In March the Obama administration approved a $2.1 billion sale of eight P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft to India — the largest U.S. arms transfer to India to date, according to news reports. In January 2008 the United States sold six C-130J Super Hercules military cargo planes to India valued at $1 billion.
“There are significant new sales on the horizon, up to $18 billion worth of contracts, for which American companies are competing,” Blake said. Part of that sale includes 126 multi-role fighter jets worth $10.4 billion.
The second strategic area of cooperation between the United States and India is in counterterrorism. “Our cooperation has expanded considerably after the terrible attacks in Mumbai of last November [2008],” he said.
Another area of strategic cooperation is in nonproliferation of the world’s most deadly weapons. “There is now much greater cooperation as a result of the [2008] civil nuclear deal,” Blake said. “And increasingly now, we see India as a partner in global nonproliferation initiatives.”
The second pillar of the U.S.-India relationship is that of energy and climate change. With the Copenhagen international climate change conference now less than a month away, this has become a major focus of the president, Blake said. India currently emits about 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, he said, making it the fifth largest global emitter. It is expected that as India’s industries expand, those emissions will rise by 50 percent over the next 20 years.
“It’s very important that India be part of this new agreement,” Blake said.
Blake said the United States remains committed to fully implementing the nuclear agreement signed last year. The U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement eases restrictions on U.S. nuclear exports to India and opens up a potential $150 billion market in electricity generation. An important step to be taken by the Indian government and the parliament is to pass liability legislation, he said.
A third pillar is in economics, trade and agriculture, Blake said. Two-way trade with India was about $5 billion in 1990, rose to $14 billion in 2000 and reached nearly $50 billion in 2008, according to U.S. trade statistics.
“We expect that growth to continue into the foreseeable future as India’s middle class continues to grow and as India’s economy continues to open up,” Blake said. “U.S. investment also has grown very quickly, and now totals about $18 billion.”
Two other pillars of cooperation include education, and science and technology, Blake said. In July Clinton signed an agreement with Indian officials creating a $30 million science and technology endowment to be used for joint research and development, innovation, and commercialization.
The Indian parliament is expected to open up the higher education sector in India to greater foreign investment, Blake said.
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This story was released on 2009-11-23. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.