Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, June 2 (IANS) Launching the first India-US strategic dialogue here, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna outlined a vision of innovation as the defining principle of cooperation to achieve the true potential of their relations as global partners.

“As the Indian economy grows, as the global economy recovers and the US economy regains its momentum, our trade and investment figures can multiply exponentially,” Krishna said in an address Wednesday at the 35th anniversary meeting of the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

But “we must go beyond that, make innovation the defining principle of our cooperation, and achieve its true potential,” he told gathered business leaders representing some 300 US companies investing in India, outlining his vision of India-US relationship transformed by the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal.

Krishna, who leads the first India-US strategic dialogue at the ministerial level Thursday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said he was “confident that our economic partnership holds immense potential for the prosperity of our two countries and for invigorating the strategic partnership between our two countries”.

Tomorrow’s dialogue, he said, would focus on a broad range of shared interests “from countering terrorism and extremism, advancing nuclear security, working to secure the global commons, and succeeding in Afghanistan to dialogues for co-operation in science and technology, research for clean energy and monsoon prediction, health and education and even a dialogue on women’s empowerment”.

“That will be an important occasion for us to reflect on the remarkable journey that our two great democracies have embarked upon, and to set our sights on new milestones,” he said.

Ahead of the Krishna-Clinton talks, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns are holding a foreign policy dialogue at the State Department which, the officials said, would set the tone for Thursday’s dialogue.

The high-powered Indian delegation includes Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)