By Arun Kumar
Washington, Nov 19 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barrack Obama’s summit could provide a springboard for deepening India-US cooperation and setting new directions in their relationship, particularly in the economic arena, according to the Indian envoy here.

“Even as we strengthen our growing cooperation in security, counter-terrorism and defence, we will give high priority to deepening economic ties,” Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar said in an address Wednesday at Petersen Institute on “India’s Role in the World Economy and the future of India-US relations”.

The future India-US economic partnership should be seen not just in terms of opportunities for multiplying trade and investment but also for finding solutions to the pressing global challenges of the times, she said.

The Manmohan Singh visit will be “an opportunity for us to consolidate all that we have achieved in the recent past and turn our progress into a springboard for deepening our cooperation and setting new directions in our relationship”, Shankar said.

“At the heart of their effort will be to create a framework that brings our two people into a closer relationship of shared endeavours, which will not only be of great benefit to our two nations, but also of value to the entire world.”

The two leaders would also meet the reconstituted India-US CEO’s Forum to get a private sector perspective on how to expand economic cooperation between the two countries, Shankar said.

“We will also increase our emphasis on cooperation in clean and renewable energy, education, science and technology and agriculture. The agenda reflects the extraordinary breadth of our bilateral engagement and the vision of cooperation of our two leaders.”

Noting that the US “had been an important partner for India in the pursuit of our national development goals”, Shankar said: “India-US relations had undergone a remarkable transformation over the last decade with a seamless transition through election cycles and changes in both countries.

“The vitality of the relationship was visible in the ever-expanding partnerships of enterprise, investment, trade, research and innovation between the two countries.”

She noted that bilateral trade had more than doubled in the last five years and investments were growing rapidly in both directions.

Arguing that as India’s stakes in the global order were increasing, New Delhi recognised the need to assume greater responsibility for shaping it, Shankar said: “Therefore, we have a rightful claim to greater voice in global governance including the UN Security Council and other global economic bodies.”

Touching upon India’s economic reforms, the ambassador stressed that economic liberalisation in India is backed by broad-based national consensus.

Referring to the timely action that the government had taken to manage the impact of the current economic downturn, she told the gathering that the return of investor confidence was being reflected both in domestic investments as well as foreign inflows.

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