Text
of the India-US Joint Statement
New
Delhi: The following is the text of the Joint Statement
issued on behalf of US President George Bush and Indian
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh after their one-to-one
and delegation-level talks in New Delhi on Thursday:
Text Begins:
President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
today expressed satisfaction with the great progress the
United States and India have made in advancing our strategic
partnership to meet the global challenges of the 21st century.
Both our countries are linked by a deep commitment to freedom
and democracy; a celebration of national diversity, human
creativity and innovation; a quest to expand prosperity
and economic opportunity worldwide; and a desire to increase
mutual security against the common threats posed by intolerance,
terrorism, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
The successful transformation of the U.S.-India relationship
will have a decisive and positive influence on the future
international system as it evolves in this new century.
Reviewing the progress made in deepening the global partnership
between the United States and India since their Joint Statement
of July 18, 2005, the President and the Prime Minister reaffirm
their commitment to expand even further the growing ties
between their two countries. Consistent with this objective,
the two leaders wish to highlight efforts the United States
and India are making together in the following areas, where
they have:
FOR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND TRADE
(1) Agreed to intensify efforts to develop a bilateral business
climate supportive of trade and investment by: 1. Welcoming
the report of the U.S.-India CEO Forum, agreeing to consider
its recommendations aimed at substantially broadening our
bilateral economic relations, and directing the Chairs of
the Indo-U.S. Economic Dialogue to follow up expeditiously
with the CEO Forum; 2. Endorsing the efforts of the U.S.-India
Trade Policy Forum to reduce barriers to trade and investment
with the goal of doubling bilateral trade in three years;
3. Agreeing to advance mutually beneficial bilateral trade
and investment flows by holding a high-level public-private
investment summit in 2006, continuing efforts to facilitate
and promote foreign direct investment and eliminate impediments
to it, and enhancing bilateral consultations on various
issues including tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade
in goods and services, and preventing the illicit use of
the financial system. (2) Sought to expand cooperation in
agriculture by: 1. Launching the Knowledge Initiative on
Agriculture with a three-year financial commitment to link
our universities, technical institutions, and businesses
to support agriculture education, joint research, and capacity
building projects including in the area of biotechnology.
2. Endorsing an agreed workplan to promote bilateral trade
in agriculture through agreements that: lay out a path to
open the U.S. market to Indian mangoes, recognize India
as having the authority to certify that shipments of Indian
products to the United States meet USDA organic standards,
and provide for discussions on current regulations affecting
trade in fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry and dairy,
and almonds. (3) Reaffirmed their shared commitment to completing
the WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) before the end of
2006, and agreed to work together to help achieve this outcome.
FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
(1)
Welcomed the successful completion of discussions on India's
separation plan and looked forward to the full implementation
of the commitments in the July 18, 2005 Joint Statement
on nuclear cooperation. This historic accomplishment will
permit our countries to move forward towards our common
objective of full civil nuclear energy cooperation between
India and the United States and between India and the international
community as a whole. (2) Welcomed the participation of
India in the ITER initiative on fusion energy as an important
further step towards the common goal of full nuclear energy
cooperation. (3) Agreed on India's participation in FutureGen,
an international public-private partnership to develop new,
commercially viable technology for a clean coal near-zero
emission power project. India will contribute funding to
the project and participate in the Government Steering Committee
of this initiative. (4) Welcomed the creation of the Asia
Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which
will enable India and the U.S. to work together with other
countries in the region to pursue sustainable development
and meet increased energy needs while addressing concerns
of energy security and climate change. The Partnership will
collaborate to promote the development, diffusion, deployment
and transfer of cleaner, cost-effective and more efficient
technologies and practices. (5) Welcomed India's interest
in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, an international
marine research endeavor that will contribute to long-term
energy solutions such as gas hydrates. (6) Noting the positive
cooperation under the Indo-U.S. Energy Dialogue, highlighted
plans to hold joint conferences on topics such as energy
efficiency and natural gas, to conduct study missions on
renewable energy, to establish a clearing house in India
for coal-bed methane/coal-mine methane, and to exchange
energy market information.
FOR INNOVATION AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
(1)
Emphasizing the importance of knowledge partnerships, announced
the establishment of a Bi-National Science and Technology
Commission which the U.S. and India will co-fund. It will
generate collaborative partnerships in science and technology
and promote industrial research and development. (2) Agreed
that the United States and India would work together to
promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement
by providing a vibrant intellectual property rights regime,
and to cooperate in the field of intellectual property rights
to include capacity building activities, human resource
development and public awareness programs. (3) Agreed to
continue exploring further cooperation in civil space, including
areas such as space exploration, satellite navigation, and
earth science. The United States and India committed to
move forward with agreements that will permit the launch
of U.S. satellites and satellites containing U.S. components
by Indian space launch vehicles, opening up new opportunities
for commercial space cooperation between the two countries.
(4) Welcomed the inclusion of two U.S. instruments in the
Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. They noted that memoranda
of understanding to be signed by ISRO and NASA would be
significant steps forward in this area. (5) Welcomed the
U.S. Department of Commerce's plan to create a license exception
for items that would otherwise require an export license
to end-users in India engaged solely in civilian activities.
FOR GLOBAL SAFETY AND SECURITY
(1) Noted the enhanced counter-terrorism cooperation between
the two countries and stressed that terrorism is a global
scourge that must be fought and rooted out in every part
of the world. (2) Welcomed the increased cooperation between
the United States and India in the defense area, since the
New Framework for the U.S.-India Defence Relationship was
signed on June 28, 2005, as evidenced by successful joint
exercises, expanded defence cooperation and information
sharing, and greater opportunities to jointly develop technologies
and address security and humanitarian issues. (3) Reaffirmed
their commitment to the protection of the free flow of commerce
and to the safety of navigation, and agreed to the conclusion
of a Maritime Cooperation Framework to enhance security
in the maritime domain, to prevent piracy and other transnational
crimes at sea, carry out search and rescue operations, combat
marine pollution, respond to natural disasters, address
emergent threats and enhance cooperative capabilities, including
through logistics support. Both sides are working to finalize
a Logistics Support Agreement at the earliest. (4) Welcomed
India's intention to join the Container Security Initiative
aimed at making global maritime trade and infrastructure
more secure and reducing the risk of shipping containers
being used to conceal weapons of mass destruction. (5) Reiterated
their commitment to international efforts to prevent the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. (6) Building
on the July 2005 Disaster Relief Initiative, noted the important
disaster management cooperation and their improved capabilities
to respond to disaster situations. (7) Recognized the importance
of capacity building in cyber security and greater cooperation
to secure their growing electronic interdependencies, including
to protect electronic transactions and critical infrastructure
from cybercrime, terrorism and other malicious threats.
DEEPENING
DEMOCRACY AND MEETING INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES
(1)
Recalled their joint launch of the UN Democracy Fund in
September 2005 and offered the experience and expertise
of both Governments for capacity building, training and
exchanges to third countries that request such assistance
to strengthen democratic institutions. (2) Welcomed the
decision of India and the United States to designate a representative
to the Government Advisory Board of the International Centre
for Democratic Transition (ICDT) located in Budapest to
facilitate cooperative activities with ICDT. (3) Agreed
that the Virtual Coordination and Information Centres set
up in September 2005 should be further strengthened and
a bilateral meeting aimed at developing a practical programme
for utilization of its services be held soon. (4) Expressed
satisfaction at the expedited USFDA drug approval processes
that strengthen the combat against HIV/AIDS at the global
level and encourage greater corporate participation to meet
this challenge, including the establishment of the Indo-U.S.
Corporate Fund for HIV/AIDS. (5) Agreed to expand bilateral
efforts and continue cooperation in the area of medical
research and strengthen technical capacity in food and drug
regulation in India as well as address the concern on avian
influenza, including agreement to reach out to the private
sector, develop regional communications strategies, and
plan an in-region containment and response exercise. The
President welcomed India's offer to host the International
Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza meeting in 2007.
(6) Welcomed India's membership in the Coalition Against
Wildlife Trafficking, a partnership through which we will
collaborate in the fight against illegal trade in wildlife
and wildlife parts; we also welcome the opportunity to strengthen
longstanding work together on the conservation of wildlife
through cooperation on park management and eco-tourism.
President Bush thanked Prime Minister Singh and the people
of India for the warmth of their reception and the generosity
of their hospitality.
(Text Ends)
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