White House issues fact sheets on Obama’s India visit

WASHINGTON - The White House has issued a series of fact sheets about the US-India “strategic relationship (that) encompasses a range of issues, activities, and programmes that reflect the vision of President (Barack) Obama and Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh”.

Extracts from the fact sheets:

Export Controls:

Manmohan Singh and Obama agreed to take mutual steps to implement a four-part export control reform programme, including: support for India’s membership in the multilateral export control regimes, removing India’s defence and space-related entities from the US “Entity List;” export licensing policy realignment, and export control cooperation.

Partnership for an Evergreen Revolution: Manmohan Singh and Obama agreed to work together to develop, test, and replicate transformative technologies to extend food security in India as part of an “Evergreen Revolution”. These efforts will benefit farmers and consumers in India, the US, and around the globe, and will extend food security in India, Africa and globally.

Counterterrorism Cooperation: Since the first bilateral discussions on counterterrorism in 2000, counterterrorism cooperation has become a pillar of the US-India relationship. In the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the US and India resolved to deepen collaborative efforts, and intensify exchanges, culminating in the signing of the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative (CCI) in July 2010.

Civil Space Cooperation: Obama and Manmohan Singh agreed to scale-up joint US-India civil space collaboration, including space exploration, earth observation, and scientific education.

Clean Energy and Climate Change: Manmohan Singh and Obama reaffirmed their countries’ strong commitment to taking vigorous action to address climate change, ensure mutual energy security, and build a clean energy economy that will drive investment, job creation, and economic growth throughout the 21st century.

Cybersecurity: Recognising the importance of cybersecurity, the US and India are advancing efforts to work together to promote a reliable information and communications infrastructure and the goal of free, fair, and secure access to cyberspace.

CEO Forum: Recognising the vital role bilateral commerce plays in the global strategic partnership, Obama and Manmohan Singh highlighted the importance of the US-India CEO Forum and the progress made in implementing its recommendations.

Defence Cooperation: The US-India defence relationship has grown from solely military-to-military links into a mature partnership that encompasses dialogues, exercises, defence sales, professional military education exchanges, and practical cooperation.

US-India Economic and Financial Partnership: Since the launch of the new US-India Economic and Financial Partnership in April 2010, the two governments have institutionalised deeper bilateral relations on economic and financial sector issues. These efforts include a macroeconomic dialogue and financial sector and infrastructure working groups.

Education: Obama and Manmohan Singh are committed to an expanding, dynamic, and comprehensive education partnership, including expanding academic exchanges, developing university and school linkages, and holding a US-India Education Summit.

Entrepreneurs Roundtable: This event introduced the president to the next generation of Indian entrepreneurs and showcased innovative partnerships between US and Indian businesses that are creating new markets for US-manufactured technologies.

The National Export Initiative: As part of the National Export Initiative, Obama noted that India-with its tremendous economic growth and its large and growing middle class-is a key market for US exports. On the margins of the president’s trip, trade transactions were announced or showcased, exceeding $14.9 billion in total value with $9.5 billion in US export content, supporting an estimated 53,670 US jobs.

Indian Investment in the US: As the US-India economic relationship deepens, investment from India contribute to the growth and vibrancy of the American economy and in the creation of jobs in the US. Over the last decade, investment capital from India grew at an annualised rate of 53 percent reaching an estimated $4.4 billion in 2009.

Nuclear Security: The US and India signed a memorandum of understanding that provides a general framework for cooperative activities in working with India’s Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, which India announced at the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit.

Deepening US-India Strategic Ties: Manmohan Singh and Obama renewed their commitment to expand cooperation on strategic issues facing the US and India and agreed to deepen and broaden strategic consultations on core foreign policy issues of mutual concern.

US-India Development Collaboration in Afghanistan: Obama and Manmohan Singh agreed to collaborate closely to assist the people of Afghanistan by identifying opportunities to leverage the two countries’ relative strengths, experience and resources. The collaboration will focus on agricultural development and women’s empowerment, where Afghanistan’s needs are great.

Securing the Air, Sea, and Space Domains: Obama and Manmohan Singh agreed that in an increasingly interconnected world, it is vital to safeguard areas of the sea, air, and space beyond national jurisdiction to ensure the security and prosperity of nations.

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