Washington: As New Delhi embarks on the path
of the next level of economic reforms aimed towards rapid growth and development, a top Obama Administration official
said that India has no more important partner than the US in
this endeavor.
"The modernisation of India and the lifting up of hundreds of millions of Indians out of poverty necessarily remains the focus of the Indian government.
"This extraordinary -- and so far extraordinarily successful -- effort requires India to sustain its high rate
of economic growth, open markets for its goods and services,
and attract the investment needed to realize its vision of
inclusive development," Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns
said.
Burns his remarks on `Is there a future for the US-India
partnership said, "There is no more important partner for
India in this endeavor than the United States. Over the past
decade, our bilateral trade has doubled and then almost
doubled again.
"Our total direct investment in India rose 10-fold,
from USD 2.4 billion in 2000 to USD 27.1 billion in 2010."
The event was organised by Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Brookings Institute, a
Washington-based eminent American think tank.
The official said India-US bilateral economic
relationship is anchored in the realisation that their
long-term interests are essentially congruent and mutually
reinforcing.
PTI
