Geithner to discuss economic stability, investment in India next week: Treasury official

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Geithner to discuss economy, investment in India

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will discuss economic stability, financial investment and building up infrastructure when he visits India next week, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Geithner will meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and take part in the first meeting of a new U.S.-Indian economic panel in the capital New Delhi and also visit Mumbai, a senior Treasury Department official said.

The vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, Donald Kohn, and other U.S. officials also will be on the trip. The April 6-7 visit is part of a U.S. effort to deepen the relationship with India — the world’s largest democracy, one of its fastest-growing economies and the most stable U.S. ally in a hostile corner of the globe.

In Mumbai, Geithner and the other U.S. officials will talk to Indian entrepreneurs and chief executives of leading companies. Mumbai, the country’s financial center, was the site of the November 2008 terror attacks that killed 166 people in a three-day siege. The attacks halted a fragile peace process between the two nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. India blamed the attacks on Pakistan-trained militants and accused Pakistan of dragging its feet in punishing the suspected plotters.

Geithner, who is making his first trip to India as Treasury chief, will discuss challenges for the global economy and ways that India can move toward opening its economy to foreign investment, the official said in a briefing with reporters. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the department’s policy.

U.S. financial firms would benefit if investments in Indian banks and other institutions were opened up, the official said. In addition, U.S. officials could learn from India’s impressive experience in amassing financing from the private sector for infrastructure projects, he said.

The goal is to establish a “robust” dialogue between the two countries, the official said.

The United States is India’s largest trading partner, with the volume of trade doubling in the last five years. President Barack Obama has said that broadening economic ties would help create much-needed jobs in the two countries as they emerge from punishing recessions.

After years of mutual wariness during the Cold War, U.S.-Indian relations are at a high point, thanks partly to the Bush administration’s push to allow U.S. civilian nuclear trade with India. The Obama administration has used that accord as a foundation for improving ties and hopes of cooperation on the U.S. president’s priority issues, such as climate change and combating terrorism.

Singh, the Indian leader, was honored with the administration’s first state dinner in November, signaling that India is high on the priority list for the U.S.

The newly formed U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership was announced by Obama during Singh’s visit to Washington.

Officials at the Indian Embassy in Washington declined to comment Wednesday on the Treasury Department’s information on Geithner’s trip.

A division of industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. said Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Indian Oil Corp. to collaborate on research and development of biofuels technologies and projects in India.

The companies will look into producing green transportation fuels at an existing Indian Oil site and also examine the potential use of special oil technology to convert plant biomass into renewable power and heat.