By Arun Kumar
Washington, Dec 4 (IANS) With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s US visit renewing the two governments’ commitment to the India-US strategic partnership, they will work together to advance global stability, security and sustainable development, according to the Indian envoy here.

The visit last week, “we believe, has renewed the commitment of the two governments to this partnership and has laid the foundation for strengthening cooperation across the extraordinary breadth of our bilateral engagement”, Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar said Thursday.

“They also agreed on expeditious completion of the remaining steps in the implementation of the civil nuclear agreement, which will open enormous opportunities for boosting economic ties and addressing the shared concerns on energy security and climate change,” she said in a speech at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

“The ongoing transformation of the Indian economy provides new avenues to strengthen her economic engagement with the US in ways that advance the economic welfare of our people and puts our economies on a more sustainable path,” added Shankar, speaking on “India and the United States - A Growing Partnership.”

“But, beyond that, we will work together to advance global stability, security and sustainable development as we respond to the opportunities and challenges of our shared world,” she said adding: “This is a relationship, which can be, as President Obama said, one of the defining relationships of the 21st century.”

Obama and Manmohan Singh also “discussed avenues for working together to accelerate global economic recovery and to put it on a more sustainable and balanced path in the future” besides issues of security, stability and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, Shankar said.

“The elimination of terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries in Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only vital for security and stability in our region, it is also vital for making our world a safer place,” she said.

“India and the United States have transformed their relationship, building and deepening cooperation across a very wide field, redefining paradigms and turning constraints of the past into opportunities for the future,” Shankar said.

“India’s ties with the United States have emerged as one of our most comprehensive partnerships, nurtured not only by the engagement between the governments, but also by the vitality of our fast expanding private partnerships and warmth of ties between our peoples.”

“A new element is the growth in Indian investments into the United States. In fact, on the basis of annual flows, Indian FDI in the US has exceeded US foreign direct investment into India in recent years in diverse sectors,” she noted.

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