- During the visit of President Clinton to Delhi in March 2000, Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton agreed as part of their vision for the future relationship that a regular, wide-ranging dialogue is important for achieving the goal of establishing closer and multifaceted relations between India and the United States and for the two countries to work jointly for promotion of peace and prosperity in the 21st century. The two leaders agreed on a number of steps to intensify and institutionalise the dialogue between India and the United States.
- The Prime Minister of India and the President of the United States will hold regular bilateral summits in alternating capitals or elsewhere, including on the occasions of multilateral meetings, to review the bilateral relations and consult on international developments and issues. They will remain in frequent contact on telephone and through letters.
- The two countries will also hold an Annual Foreign Policy Dialogue at the level of the External Affairs Minister of India and the Secretary of State of the United States. This dialogue will be broad-based and touch upon all aspects of India-US relations, including considering the work of other groups as appropriate.
- The two countries also consider the ongoing Dialogue on Security and Non-proliferation between the External Affairs Minister of India and the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States important for improving mutual understanding on bilateral, regional and international security matters. They agreed that this dialogue should continue and take place semi-annually or as often as considered desirable by both sides. The Principals of this dialogue will establish Expert Groups on specific issues as considered desirable and appropriate.
- Foreign Office Consultations between the Foreign Secretary of India and the Under Secretary of State for political affairs of the United States and will continue. The two leaders believe that close co-operation between the two countries is a factor of stability in the politically and culturally diverse and rapidly transforming Asia. A Dialogue on Asian Security will also be conducted as part of the Foreign Office Consultations. The two sides will also stay in close touch and consult on international democracy initiatives.
- The two leaders consider combating international terrorism as one of the most important global challenges. They expressed satisfaction at the establishment of the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism and its productive first meeting in February 2000. They agree that the Joint Working Group should continue to meet regularly and become an effective mechanism for the two countries to share information and intensify their cooperation in combating terrorism.
- The two leaders see an enormous potential for enhancement of economic and business relations between the two countries in the knowledge Age. They decided to institutionalise bilateral economic dialogue. They will keep themselves informed and follow developments in the bilateral economic dialogue closely through in high level co-ordinating group. The co-ordinating group will be led on the India side by Prime Minister's office with the support of Ministry of External Affairs, and on the US side by the White House with the support of the State Department.
The co-ordinating Group will develop a common economic agenda for and undertake preparations for the Heads of Government meetings. With broad interagency and inter-ministerial representations at senior official level, it would convene regularly to facilitate close co-ordination on the various issues raised in the ministerial dialogues and ensure that discussions therein complement and reinforce broad economic and foreign policy objectives, including the deepening of bilateral co-operation on high technology issues.
Indo-US Financial and Economic Forum:
The Indian Minister of Finance and the US secretary of the Treasury will host a forum on finance and investment issues, macroeconomic policy and international economic developments at regular intervals.
Their meetings at ministerial level would be supplemented by sub-Cabinet meetings and involve, as appropriate, the participation of Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve, Council of Economic Advisors, and other officials of the US Government and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India and other officials of Government of India.
Indo-US Commercial Dialogue:
The Minister of Commerce and Industry of India and the US Secretary of Commerce will lead a dialogue to deepen ties between the Indian and American business communities. The dialogue will encompass regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings. Its aim will be to (a) facilitate trade (b) maximise investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors, including information technology, infrastructure, biotechnology, and services.
Participation will include, as appropriate, representatives of other Cabinet agencies and Ministries on both sides. Close contact will be maintained with business associations, and activities will be planned with the benefit of such private sector input, including the establishment of subcommittees of pursue specific projects or sectoral issues of mutual interest.
Indo-US Working Group on Trade:
The Ministry of Commerce and other concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and the United States Trade Representatives will engage in regular discussion to enhance cooperation on trade policy. As appropriate, individual trade issues could be examined in greater depth with the participation of other agencies with corresponding responsibilities and through creation of sub-groups.
The Group will serve as a locus of consultation on a broad range of trade-related issues, including those pertaining to the World Trade Organisation. The Group will receive inputs from the private sector (including trade policy issues identified in the Indo-US commercial Dialogue) as appropriate.
- The two leaders consider co-operational between the two countries in energy and environment an important part of their vision for the future. They have agreed to set up a Joint Consultative Group on Clean Energy and Environment. The Group will hold periodic ministerial/high level meetings as desirable and appropriate and will lay emphasis on collaborative projects, developing and deploying clean energy technologies, public and private sector investment and co-operation, and climate change and other environmental issues. The Co-conveners of the Group will be the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Department of State of the United States.
- The two leaders believe that the strong scientific resources of the two countries provide excellent opportunities for scientific collaboration between them. They agree to set up an India-US Science and Technology Forum. The Forum shall promote research and development, the transfer of technology, the creation of a comprehensive electronic reference source, for Indo-US science and technology cooperation, and the electronic exchange and dissemination of information on Indo-US science and technology cooperation, and other programmes consistent with the previous practice of the US - India Foundation.
- Institutional dialogue in other areas will be considered as mutually agreed.
