US and India discuss security, trade ties

Jul 19, 2011, 7:11 GMT

New Delhi - India and the United States on Tuesday began talks on boosting security and economic ties as well as expediting the implementation of a civilian nuclear deal.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna led the talks at the Hyderabad House in the Indian capital New Delhi.

The talks were the second round of the India-US strategic dialogue which opened in Washington last June.

The dialogue was aimed at expanding cooperation in as many as 18 areas including trade and energy, but anti-terrorism cooperation figured high on the agenda after last week's blasts in Mumbai, which claimed 19 lives.

Ahead of her India visit, Clinton condemned the attacks as 'despicable' and reaffirmed her administration's 'commitment to the shared struggle against terrorism.'

Discussions would also focus on the volatile security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. India was likely to voice its concerns over the US troop drawdown in Afghanistan and its recently revived peace talks with neighbouring rival Pakistan.

India and the US were likely to sign key pacts in the areas of cyber-security and civil aviation after the talks, official sources told the IANS news agency.

Implementation of a US-India civilian nuclear deal would be another important area of discussion.

Fresh hurdles have come up after the international Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) in June set new norms that ban the export of enrichment and processing technologies to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Nuclear-armed India has not signed the pact.

The 46-member NSG, which controls international trade in fissile materials, in September 2008 granted the US a waiver to trade with India, after lobbying from Washington.

Economic cooperation, defence and environmental issues were also key areas on the agenda, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.

India is currently the 12th-largest trading partner for the US with trade volume at 50 billion dollars in 2010. New Delhi wishes to increase it to 88 billion dollars annually.

Clinton was scheduled to meet top Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday.

The secretary of state, who arrived in New Delhi late Monday, is visiting India for the second time since taking office. Her tour follows President Barack Obama's visit to India last November.

Clinton was scheduled to travel to the southern city of Chennai, a hub for US investment, on Wednesday. She is to leave the country Thursday for the next leg of her trip to Indonesia and China.

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