India and the US have agreed to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation through new initiatives like setting up a framework for cooperation on trade and investment and launching a financial and economic partnership.
"The Framework is expected to foster an environment conducive to technological innovation and collaboration, promote inclusive growth and job creation," said the joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama. The joint statement was issued after the meeting between Singh and Obama. The Indian Prime Minister is on a four-day state visit to the US.
While the Framework would support small and medium enterprises in exploring new business opportunities, the US-India Financial and Economic Partnership would deal with economic, financial and investment-related issues.
The two leaders have also agreed to strengthen and reform the global economic and financial architecture in the G-20, the World Bank and the IMF, besides expressing their resolve to seek an ambitious and balanced outcome of the Doha Round.
The multilateral trading system, the leaders emphasised, should be open, fair, equitable, transparent and rule-based.
Calling India as a rising and responsible global power in Asia, the US President said his country welcomes and encourages New Delhi's leadership role in helping shape the rise of stable, peaceful and prosperous Asia.
He said India has much to teach developing countries about achieving food sufficiency.
Obama said India and the US need to promote trade and investment and technology cooperation, especially among small-and medium-sized business, which creates most jobs in the US.
In the context of G-20's decision to increase voting power of emerging economies in IMF and the World Bank, he said emerging economies like India should have a greater voice in shaping global financial architecture.
Singh said the two leaders also decided to give fresh impetus to collaboration in education, agriculture and health, to deepen ongoing collaboration between them in frontier areas of science, technology, nuclear power and space.
"This will open new opportunities for universities and laboratories and create human capital," Singh said.
The prime minister underlined India's desire to benefit from clean technologies of the United States.
"Our partnership will continue to global efforts to combat climate change and achieve energy security," he said.
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