Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, June 4 (IANS) With US President Barack Obama according relations with “responsible global power” India “highest of priorities”, the two countries have vowed to work together to meet the challenges of 21st century.

Pledging cooperation over a broad spectrum ranging from counter-terrorism to trade, they agreed as strategic partners to “continue to consult each other closely on regional and global developments and remain sensitive to each other’s interests.”

“They confirmed that global institutions of governance should reflect contemporary realities and enhance effectiveness, in order to meet the challenges of the new century,” said a joint statement issued after the first ever India-US strategic dialogue.

The strategic dialogue had helped lay the groundwork for Obama’s visit to India in early November for the fourth substantive bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it said pledging to “intensify discussions on how to further deepen and broaden their cooperation”.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who led the strategic dialogue, expressed their shared view that the dialogue “and the bilateral mechanisms therein provide an important platform for strengthening the US-India partnership, offering a strategic vision for enhanced future cooperation”.

In addition to advancing global security and stability, both recognized that their two countries had enormous opportunities to deepen their cooperation in trade and investment, science and technology, infrastructure investment, environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, energy security, education, agriculture, food security, healthcare and empowerment of people, it said.

The joint statement noted that Obama “welcomed” the Indian delegation and emphasized his commitment to strengthening the growing US-India partnership.

The India-US strategic dialogue “is propelled by the dynamic momentum achieved in the their relationship over the last decade and is in pursuance of the global strategic partnership for a better world” that Manmohan Singh and Obama reaffirmed during their meetings in November 2009 and April 2010 in Washington.

Clinton and Krishna also “pledged to deepen people-to-people, business-to-business, and government-to-government linkages between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, for the mutual benefit of both countries and for the promotion of global peace, stability, economic growth and prosperity.”

Both recalled that the “India-US partnership rests on the firm foundation of common ideals as well as security and economic interests,” the statement said.

“The guiding principles upon which both nations were founded - democracy, mutual respect, individual liberty, rule of law, and an appreciation for the strength we derive from being pluralistic societies - make the India-US bond strong, resilient, and uniquely important for building a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and sustainable world.”

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

Clinton was joined by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Federal Bureau of Investigtion (FBI) Director Robert Mueller, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, President’s Advisor for Science and Technology John Holdren, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman among others.