NEW DELHI: Just a day after the signing of the Investment Incentive Agreement between India and the US in Tokyo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that trade and investment relations with the US are below potential, despite a steady rise in recent years.
“Our people-to-people ties and strong economic cooperation make the India-US partnership unique. Our trade and investment relations are also steadily on the rise but they’re below our potential,” Prime Minister Modi told US President Joe Biden during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Expressing his satisfaction over the Investment Incentive Agreement that was signed on Monday, President Biden said, “I’m pleased that we’ve reached an agreement for US Development Finance Corporation to continue this important work in India, supporting vaccine production, clean energy initiatives. I’m glad we’re renewing the Indo-US Vaccine Action Program.”
“There is so much that our countries can and will do together. I’m committed to making the US-India partnership among the closest we have on earth,” President Biden said.
“I’m confident that with the conclusion of the US Investment Incentive Agreement we will see concrete progress in investment between our two countries,” PM Modi said on the signing of the Investment Incentive Agreement.
PM Modi and President Biden also discussed the ongoing effects of Russia’s clash with Ukraine. “The US and India will continue to consult closely on how to mitigate these negative effects,” President Biden said.
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Meanwhile, India and the US announced that they will hold a joint military exercise with Bahrain as an associate member.
India and the US also announced expanding their cooperation in new defence domains, including space and the cyber world.
The two countries will also hold a dialogue on Artificial Intelligence later this year.
“We share similar views on Indo-Pacific, at the bilateral level as well as with like-minded countries to work to protect our common concerns. Our discussions today will give speed to this positive momentum,” PM Modi said.
“India and US partnership in the true sense is a partnership of trust. Our common interests and values have strengthened this bond of trust between our two countries,” he added.
President Biden and PM Modi also welcomed the launch of a United States–India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), spearheaded by the National Security Councils of India and the USA to expand collaboration in critical and emerging technologies.
“The USA will join six of India’s Technology Innovation Hubs to support at least 25 joint research projects in 2022 in areas
such as artificial intelligence and data science to advance progress in applications such as agriculture, health and climate.
The US National Science Foundation and Department of Science and Technology of India will deepen this cooperation through the new US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology,” the White House said on Tuesday.