Washington: India and the US should expand their collaborations at global level and work jointly together to address range of issues like poverty, child deaths, food security, conservation of natural resources and international peace, leaders of the two countries have said.
Following their hour-long meeting at the White House and a luncheon, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the US president Barack Obama in a joint statement said the two countries should look to each other as partners of first resort in addressing global challenges.
Reaffirming that in the years ahead, the US looks forward to a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member, Obama and Singh agreed that both their nations bear a "responsibility" to ensure that the 15-membered body continues to effectively play the role in maintaining international peace and security envisioned in the United Nations Charter.
Building on ongoing consultations between India and the US on East, Central and West Asia, and the trilateral dialogue mechanisms with Afghanistan and Japan respectively, Obama and Singh agreed to expand their consultations to include a dialogue on the Indian Ocean region, to deepen co-ordination on cross-cutting issues including maritime security and conservation of natural resources, the joint statement said.
The two leaders resolved to work together to end extreme poverty, including through expanding efforts to end preventable child deaths through the "Child Survival Call to Action".
Fifty years after the launch of India`s own agricultural "Green Revolution", the leaders applauded their countries` work together with African partners Kenya, Malawi, and Liberia to provide capacity building and exchange best practises for food security, it said.
According to the statement, Singh and Obama recognised that increased cooperation in these areas will strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, highlighting shared democratic values and the capabilities the two countries have to work together across Asia and around the globe.
"The two countries have crossed a threshold in their relations where both recognise that successes at home and abroad are further advanced by their cooperation," it said.
PTI
