Conclusion of the elevated US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue with a series of agreements has set the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second US visit, beginning Thursday.
Apart from issuing a comprehensive joint declaration on combating terrorism, the two sides have agreed to build on the momentum of cooperation in key sectors including health, education, energy, defence, security, space research and cyberspace.
A joint statement issued at the end of the deliberations reaffirms US support for India’s membership of an expanded UN Security council, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime.
“Both Sides assessed that ties between the United States and India have never been stronger — as reflected by unprecedented strategic cooperation, record levels of bilateral trade and investment, and more than 2 million annual visits between their citizens, students, and entrepreneurs,” the statement noted.
They pledged to build on this momentum by pursuing new areas of collaboration, leveraging the talents of government and the private sector.
The two sides agreed to launch a new high-level dialogue between India’s Foreign Secretary and the US Deputy Secretary of State on Regional and Global Issues. They also announced a new “Diplomacy Partnership” that will include a new Policy Planning Dialogue and coordination on the training of diplomats through collaboration between Foreign Service Institutes of the two countries.
“I’m happy that we have been able to conclude a joint declaration on combating terrorism, to expand our counterterrorism partnership,” said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The declaration that names Pakistan-based groups leT, JeM and the D-company (of Indian fugitive Dawood Ibrahim) also calls upon Islamabad to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
In the economic and commercial sphere, the two sides decided to pursue a number of initiatives. Next year, they will be help launch an innovation forum, which will be a platform for US and Indian entrepreneurs to share best practices in promoting a culture of innovation and the creation of sister innovation hubs.
A joint work stream on Ease of Doing Business has been created to exchange information and best practices on trade, including a focus on commercial law-related initiatives on issues like insolvency, contract enforcement and transparency.
On the long-pending issue of Totalisation, which is of tremendous significance for Indian guest workers who collectively contribute millions of dollars towards social security, the joint statement referred to discussions held last month after a gap of five years and said the two sides look forward to further engagement.
The two countries welcomed efforts toward the removal of barriers impacting their participation in global supply chains and sustained implementation of trade facilitation measures.
Responding to India’s request for support in developing evaluation techniques for Massive Open Online Courses and Distance Education Courses, the United States agreed to facilitate discussions with US industry experts specializing in this area.
The US also affirmed its readiness to assist in India’s ambitious goal of providing skills training to 400 million people over the next decade.