Time to realise true potential of ties: Modi, Obama joint editorial

Washington, Sep 30: India and the US have yet to realise the true potential of their relationship, and the advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen the bilateral relationship, visiting Prime Minister

and US President

said in a joint op-ed piece in the Washington Post Tuesday.

They said that with a "reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence", both can go "beyond modest and conventional goals" and added that it was time to "set a new agenda, one that realises concrete benefits for our citizens".

Outlining the agenda ahead of their talks, the two leaders said it would be an "agenda that enables us to find mutually rewarding ways to expand our collaboration in trade, investment and technology that harmonise with India's ambitious development agenda, while sustaining the United States as the global engine of growth".

When they meet, both sides will "discuss ways in which we can boost manufacturing and expand affordable renewable energy, while sustainably securing the future of our common environment".

They will discuss ways in which "our businesses, scientists and governments can partner as India works to improve the quality, reliability and availability of basic services, especially for the poorest of citizens. In this, the United States stands ready to assist".

The article, headlined "A renewed US-India partnership for the 21st century", says that an "immediate area of concrete support is the 'Clean India' campaign", where both would leverage private and civil society innovation, expertise and technology to improve sanitation and hygiene throughout India".

"While our shared efforts will benefit our own people, our partnership aspires to be larger than merely the sum of its parts," the article says.

Both sides aspire to a better future for all, "one in which our strategic partnership also produces benefits for the world at large".

"While India benefits from the growth generated by US investment and technical partnerships, the United States benefits from a stronger, more prosperous India."

Their partnership would aspire to prove beneficial to the region and the world as a whole.

"In turn, the region and the world benefit from the greater stability and security that our friendship creates. We remain committed to the larger effort to integrate South Asia and connect it with markets and people in Central and Southeast Asia," pointing to the US's keenness to join in connectivity projects in Southeast Asia as part of its "rebalance" in Asia.

As global partners, both sides are committed to enhancing their homeland security "by sharing intelligence, through counter-terrorism and law enforcement cooperation, while we jointly work to maintain freedom of navigation and lawful commerce across the seas".

Both would collaborate in health, that would help them "tackle the toughest of challenges, whether combating the spread of Ebola, researching cancer cures or conquering diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and dengue". The collaboration would extend to empower women, build capacity and improve food security in Afghanistan and Africa.

"That we both have satellites orbiting Mars tells its own story. The promise of a better tomorrow is not solely for Indians and Americans: It also beckons us to move forward together for a better world. This is the central premise of our defining partnership for the 21st century. Forward together we go - Chalein Saath Saath," Modi and Obama stated in the joint article.

IANS