SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning, and welcome to the Third Annual
U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue. Minister Krishna, a warm welcome to you
and your distinguished delegation. It is a pleasure to repay the
hospitality you have shown me so often, most recently this past month in
Delhi, and to have this opportunity to bring together so many experts
and officials from our two countries.
The strategic fundamentals of our relationship – shared democratic
values, economic imperatives and diplomatic priorities – are moving us
closer to an understanding and a trust that reflects the convergence of
values and interests. To grow and prosper, we both need open, free,
fair, and transparent global economic systems. We both seek security and
stability in South Asia and the Asia Pacific. And we understand the
critical importance of a coordinated international response to violent
extremism and other shared global challenges.
As a result, under President Obama’s and Prime Minister Singh’s
leadership, we are forging a new and more mature phase in our critical
bilateral relationship, one defined by near-constant consultation aimed
at advancing the interests and values we share, and working through the
inevitable differences. There is less need today for the dramatic
breakthroughs that marked earlier phases, but more need for steady,
focused cooperation. This kind of weekly, sometimes daily, collaboration
is not always glamorous, but it is strategically significant. And it is
exemplified by this dialogue.
Reflected around this table are a wide range of participants
representing the many topics we are working on together. And we are
committed to not only expanding our bilateral relationship, but to
furthering the work we do regionally and globally. In fact, later this
week we will co-host an important Global Health Conference on child
mortality.
The quantity of meetings ultimately matters less than the quality of
the results produced. And the effectiveness of our partnership hinges on
our ability together to convert common interests into common actions.
It’s not enough just to talk about cooperation on issues ranging from
civilian nuclear energy or attracting more U.S. investments to India or
defending human rights or promoting women’s empowerment; we have to
follow through so that our people – citizens of two great pluralistic
democracies – can see and feel the benefits.
I think we are making progress. Let me quickly highlight five areas.
First, trade and investment. We’ve come a long way together:
Bilateral trade and investment may exceed $100 billion this year, up
tenfold since 1995 and up more than 40 percent since 2009 when we
launched the Strategic Dialogue. There’s a lot of room, however, for
further growth, and we need to keep up the momentum. We look forward to
working to advance negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty, to
further reduce barriers to trade and investment in areas like
multi-brand retail, and to create hospitable environments for each of
our companies to do business in the other’s country.
Second, on science and technology. We have significant
accomplishments: a new Partnership to Advance Clean Energy; more than $1
billion mobilized for clean energy projects; progress on the Joint
Clean Energy Research and Development Center; and yesterday,
Westinghouse and India’s Nuclear Power Corporation signed an agreement
committing both sides to work toward the preliminary licensing and site
development work needed to begin construction of new reactors in
Gujarat. There is still a lot of work to be done, including
understanding the implications of nuclear liability legislation, but
this is a significant step toward the fulfillment of our landmark civil
nuclear cooperation agreement.
Third, on education and people-to-people ties. Yesterday in our
Higher Education Dialogue, we discussed in depth how to increase
educational exchanges and strengthen the ties between our universities.
Indians and Americans are among the most innovative people on this
planet, and we have so much to learn from each another. But making the
most of this potential will require investments from both sides and a
strong focus on areas such as job training and digital learning, where
we can make a big impact.
Fourth, on security and defense cooperation. Over recent years we’ve
expanded coordination and information sharing in the fight against
violent extremism. Our militaries are participating in joint exercises
and are increasingly cooperating to combat piracy, patrol vital sea
lanes, and protect freedom of navigation. Bilateral defense trade has
surpassed $8 billion over the last five years. We are convinced this
partnership can grow in the future to include joint research,
development, and co-production of defense systems. And in our
discussions today, I hope we can focus in particular on the need to
deepen cooperation on cyber security, which is a growing concern for
both of us.
And let me add, on the critical security challenge of Iran’s nuclear
program, we can see habits of cooperation paying off. The United States
appreciates that India has made it clear it understands the importance
of denying Iran a nuclear weapon and supports the efforts to ensure
Iran’s compliance with international obligations. And India has taken
steps to diversify its sources of imported crude by reducing purchases
of Iranian oil – a fact that I officially reported to our Congress. The
United States recognizes India’s growing energy needs, and we’re working
together to ensure not only stable oil markets but additional areas of
cooperation to help India attain greater energy security.
And finally, we are cooperating in South and East Asia. The United
States welcomes India’s contributions toward building a stable, secure,
and prosperous Afghanistan, including its more than $2 billion in
assistance. We hope the conference later this month in New Delhi will
galvanize more international investment. And together we must continue
laying the groundwork for the long-term vision of a New Silk Road that
connects markets, businesses, and consumers from the Caspian to the
Ganges and beyond. Both the United States and India have signed
strategic partnership agreements with Afghanistan to demonstrate our
enduring commitment, and I hope we can move toward a formal trilateral
consultation among our three nations.
The United States continues to support India’s Look East policy. Both
our countries have significant stakes in the future of the dynamic Asia
Pacific region, and we need to expand our work both bilaterally and
through multilateral institutions such as the East Asia Summit and the
ASEAN Regional Forum to work to build a regional architecture that will
boost economic growth, settle disputes peacefully, and uphold universal
rights and norms.
And I think that these are just five of the significant areas in
which the strategic fundamentals of our relationship are progressing.
I’m very excited and appreciative for all the work that has been done by
members of both of our governments, only some of whom are represented
here today, to move our Strategic Dialogue further and to broaden and
deepen our cooperation.
Let me again thank Minister Krishna for his leadership, and let me now turn and invite him to speak.
FOREIGN MINISTER KRISHNA: Thank you, Madam Secretary Hillary
Clinton, distinguished members of the United States delegation, it’s a
great pleasure for me to join you in chairing the Third India-U.S.
Strategic Dialogue. I would like to thank you profusely for hosting the
dialogue, and for the warmth and hospitality. And we also sincerely
appreciate the efforts that your team and our embassy here have put in
to making this literally an India-United States fortnight in Washington.
With all the other bilateral meetings scheduled in the past two weeks,
it speaks to the depth of our relationship and the diversity of our
engagement.
Madam Secretary, I am particularly honored to be joined by my
distinguished ministerial colleagues: Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister for
Health and Family Welfare; Mr. Montek Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman,
Planning Commission; Mrs. Krishna Tirath, Minister of State for Women
and Child Development; Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for
Planning, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences; and Mr. Sam
Pitroda, Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovation Advisor to
Prime Minister. I am also pleased to be joined by several of our most
senior officials in the Government of India.
Even by the high standards of India-U.S. relationship, we have had an
unprecedented intensity of engagement over the past years. Yet the
Strategic Dialogue is a unique opportunity to bring together all the
threads of our cooperation that constitute the extraordinarily rich
tapestry of our relationship. Madam Secretary, our two sides have a
shared vision that our global strategic partnership could be one of the
most important defining relationships of the 21
st Century.
In July 2009 in Delhi, we started a new chapter in an already
exciting study of India-U.S. ties. Our bilateral engagement as well as
global developments over the past three years has only strengthened our
mutual commitment to this partnership. In every field – political,
strategic, security, defense, intelligence, nuclear cooperation, space,
trade and investment, energy, science and technology, higher education
and empowerment – we are making tangible and continuous progress. What
was once novel and unprecedented in our relationship is now almost
routine and normal. In the process of our engagement, we have built
something more precious: friendship, goodwill, trust, mutual confidence,
candor, and belief in the importance of a successful partnership.
Sometimes there are questions and doubts about the relationship. They
are inevitable in something so unique and new. But I believe that
having settled the question of whether India and the U.S. can or should
work towards a close relationship, the question we ask now are how to
harness the full potential of that relationship. If we go by the
investments that the two governments are making and the energy and
enterprise of our people, we are, Madam Secretary, on the right track.
But as I say, we have reasons to be satisfied but not complacent. So we
hope, in the course of today, we will chart the course ahead both for
the immediate future and the long term. (Inaudible) I think the dialogue
process will start.
Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Minister.
