By Arun Kumar and Manish Chand
Washington, Nov 23 (IANS) India and the US are all set to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy security, clean energy and climate change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Monday while seeking cooperation of American companies in these areas.

“This will provide a framework for pursuing bilateral cooperation in specific areas,” he said addressing the US India Business Council (USIBC) made up of top US companies investing in India.

Noting that these are areas where American companies are leaders in the field, the prime minister said: “We should explore possible areas of cooperation.”

As India works with other countries “to meet the challenge of climate change, we are also addressing the problem domestically through a National Action Plan for climate change, which outlines many new initiatives in energy efficiency, and clean energy,” he said.

The prime minister’s announcement was a clear indication that India and the US have substantially bridged differences in their approach towards international climate negotiations at Copenhagen, due in December.

After the MoU is signed during Tuesday’s summit between Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama, a number of collaborative projects are likely to be announced soon, official sources told IANS.

There is enormous scope for collaboration on green technology and in interlinked areas like energy-efficient green buildings and renewable sources of energy, including solar and wind and bio mass.

The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran is accompanying Manmohan Singh on this first state visit of the Obama White House where climate change would be high on the agenda.

The new strategy involved India linking up climate change talks with its access to nuclear energy. This new approach is reflected in the determination of the Obama Administration to wrap up a crucial pact for reprocessing spent fuel by the time the US president sits down for talks with his Indian guest.