Indian FM urges deeper business ties with US

June 3, 2010

Associated Press

FOSTER KLUG

WASHINGTON - India's foreign minister urged U.S. and Indian companies on Wednesday to build on the links forged by a landmark civilian nuclear accord and deepen business, technology and research ties.

S. M. Krishna's comments at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came during the inaugural U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, an attempt by the Obama administration to boost a relationship that was transformed by the Bush administration's accord to establish nuclear trade with formerly shunned India.

India worries that relations with the United States have slipped since the nuclear deal was signed into law in 2008; it has watched warily as President Barack Obama has pursued deeper ties with India's neighboring rivals, China and Pakistan.

A small army of high-level Indian and U.S. diplomats and officials are meeting this week in an effort to ease those fears and expand on an already long list of areas in which the countries are working together. The highlight of the meetings comes Thursday, when Krishna meets with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Obama addresses a reception for the Indian officials.

The U.S. message is that Washington needs and wants Indian help on a host of global issues, including the war in Afghanistan and climate change, education, poverty, counterterrorism, energy, agricultural and trade initiatives.

Krishna said that business cooperation can be an important part of strengthening ties. Contact between companies driving an expanding Indian economy and those helping the U.S. economy regain its momentum can lead to huge trade and investment growth for both countries, he said.

The United States has sought repeatedly in recent days to reassure India that Washington has a deep strategic interest in nurturing its emergence as a global power.

Obama also has sent signals of the value he gives the country. He gave Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh an elaborate formal welcome to the White House last year, and a third of his Cabinet has visited India since he took office almost a year and a half ago; Obama also plans to visit India himself this year.

Despite the high-level visits and near-constant diplomatic contact, however, Indians have often expressed nostalgia for former President George W. Bush, who shepherded the nuclear deal into law and made it the cornerstone of a new strategic relationship.

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