Obama: India Is a Critical Center of Influence
Washington - President Obama says that a critical pillar of his national security strategy involves deepening cooperation with 21st-century centers of influence - "and that includes India."
"The United States values our partnership not because of where India is on a map, but because of what we share and where we can go together," Obama said June 3 ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/June/20100604140132bpuh0.3273279.html ) at a special reception for Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his delegation. Krishna and senior Indian officials were in Washington for the four-day U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue.
"India is indispensable to the future that we seek," the president added. Since his administration began 16 months ago, a third of the Cabinet has traveled to India, and that helps explain the depth of the strategic dialogue between the two nations. The Obama administration has begun using strategic dialogues as a means for deeper consultations and commitment among select nations.
Obama also announced that he will visit India for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his government in early November. Singh was invited to Washington in November 2009 in the Obama administration's first state visit, during which he asked Obama to visit India. (See photo gallery ( http://www.america.gov/multimedia/photogallery.html#/4110/obama_singh/ ).)
"Prime Minister Singh and I are very proud to take credit for our two nations forging an unprecedented partnership through this strategic dialogue," Obama said. The U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/May/20100521191156eaifas5.337167e-02.html?CP.rss=true ) was first announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in July 2009.
STRATEGIC DIALOGUE
In addition to advancing global security and stability, delegates from India and the United States met in 18 dialogues during the four-day meeting to expand cooperation in trade and investment, science and technology, infrastructure investment, environmental sustainability, climate change, energy security, education, agriculture, food security, health care and empowerment. The talks underscored the specific purpose of this session of the dialogue - which will rotate between New Delhi and Washington - to launch the process, identify issues that will require more study, and determine how to address them.
In the area of security, Clinton thanked the Indian government for its support and efforts in Afghanistan with contributions to reconstruction, capacity building and development. Krishna said that India and the United States have a convergent goal of a stable, peaceful, pluralistic and democratic Afghanistan that protects its people and threatens no others in the region.
Clinton and Krishna pledged full implementation of the 2008 civil nuclear cooperation accord. The two reiterated that nuclear energy can make a significant contribution to building a sustainable and clean energy future.
Trade and investment garnered considerable attention during the talks because of the rising level of two-way trade, reaching more than $60 billion in 2009. A portion of the talks in Washington included the U.S.-India Business Council because of the intense interest among American and Indian companies.
India is among the members of the Group of 20 advanced economies. Krishna and Clinton acknowledged during the talks that the current global economic recovery is still fragile and that, without sustained international support and cooperation, it could falter. The two leaders called for a balanced and ambitious conclusion to World Trade Organization development efforts that are intended to liberalize global trade, reduce national barriers and resist protectionism.
The two nations also strengthened bilateral cooperation in three areas - broad economic policy, financial sector reforms and infrastructure financing.
