Washington: The US has said its relationship
with India is expected to grow on a very promising trajectory
both in the near future and over the long term, with the focus
on counter-terrorism cooperation, climate change, civil
nuclear energy and rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.
"Broadly speaking, relations between the United States
and India have never been better, and are likely to continue
on their very promising trajectory - both in the near future
and over the long-term," Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, said.
"That`s why President Obama has called India an
`indispensable partner` and said that `our relations with
India will be one of the defining partnerships for the United
States in the 21st century`," he told the IIT-Kanpur Golden
Jubilee Alumni Convention here recently.
Blake noted that Obama and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton wanted to elevate the US relationship with India by
establishing a Strategic Dialogue which convened for the first
time last month in Washington.
"We began the Dialogue to give senior-level strategic
direction to the many working groups and dialogues already in
progress, conceive new initiatives to confront the new
challenges of the 21st century like climate change and
capitalise on new opportunities for cooperation in areas like
food security and clean energy," he said.
Referring to the growing Indo-US relationship, Blake
recalled that in the area of strategic cooperation, the US
reached an agreement with India on nuclear reprocessing six
months ahead of schedule.
"We are heartened that the Indian Government is committed
to passing Nuclear Liability Legislation that is the last step
needed for our companies to begin civil nuclear investments in
India," the Obama Administration`s top diplomat for South Asia
said.
"Our counter-terrorism cooperation has expanded
dramatically to include rail security, urban policing,
information exchange and much more to bring terrorists to
justice and help prevent terrorist attacks," he said.
Clinton has welcomed India`s contributions to Afghan
reconstruction, capacity building and development efforts and
its offer to enhance these efforts.
"We are now exploring how the US and India can work
more closely together in Afghanistan," Blake said.
Noting that military-to-military relations are
burgeoning, Blake said the Indian military holds more
bilateral exercises with the United States than any other
nation.
"As Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Michele
Flournoy recently noted, we are `creating conditions where
close US-India defence cooperation is normal, expected and
routine`," he said.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has rightly said that
US-India defence relationship has evolved from a purely
military relationship to a "state of comprehensive
engagement," Blake noted.
"In the Energy and Climate Change pillar, we have
launched a US-India climate dialogue to capitalise on the
improved coordination between the US and India in
international climate negotiations," he said.
"The US appreciates the important role Prime Minister
(Manmohan) Singh played in helping to forge a consensus in
Copenhagen (climate talks) last year.
"We support continuing the progress made in Copenhagen on
the key issues that are necessary for any global climate
regime-mitigation, transparency, financing, adaptation,
technology and reducing emissions from deforestation and
forest degradation in developing countries," Blake said.
It is important for the global community to continue to
make progress and find common ground on these essential issues
in the lead up to the climate change talks later this year in
Cancun, he said.
PTI
