Clinton visit ends on a high note

Clinton visit ends on a high note
The Financial Express, July 21, 2009, Page 1

Agencies, fe Bureau

New DelhiThe US and India said on Monday they had agreed on a defence pact that takes a major step towards allowing the sale of sophisticated US arms to New Delhi.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, at the end of her first visit to India as Washington’s top diplomat, said Delhi had also approved two sites for US companies to build nuclear power plants. “We have been told that sites for two nuclear parks have been earmarked for us,” Clinton said.

India and the US also inked two agreements, including one that facilitates the launch of US satellites from Indian launch vehicles and another in the field of science & technology. An agreement on setting up an endowment board for R&D in agriculture was also signed.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed to Clinton the concerns in India over growing protectionism in the US. Singh pointed out that the Indian business community was concerned over growing protectionism in the US, PMO sources said. Clinton assured Singh that the US did not have protectionist policies, the sources said.

India has been worried about growing protectionism in the US, which has been increasing in the aftermath of the economic crisis, affecting domestic industry. New Delhi has been emphasising that developed nations should not take recourse to protectionism as it would deepen the crisis, especially in developing countries.

During the meeting, which was followed by lunch hosted by the Prime Minister, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations across a wide range of sectors. Clinton said the US wanted India to play an active role in regional and global forums. She also reiterated President Barack Obama’s invitation to the Prime Minister to visit the US, the sources said.

A state department official said on condition of anonymity that Singh would be the first foreign leader to make a state visit under President Obama, another mark of the relationship’s importance to Washington.

The defence and nuclear agreements gave Clinton tangible accomplishments from a trip designed to deepen ties and demonstrate President Obama’s commitment to India’s emergence as a player on the global stage.

“We have agreed on the end-use monitoring arrangement which would refer to... Indian procurement of US defence technology and equipment, foreign minister SM Krishna said at a joint news conference with Clinton.

Known as an end-use monitoring agreement and required by US law for such weapons sales, the pact would let Washington check that India was using any arms for the purposes intended and was preventing the technology from leaking to others. India is expected to spend more than $30 billion over the next five years on upgrading its arsenal.