India and the United States will hold dialogues on strategic and economic cooperation on what is called ?five pillars? during the five-day visit of secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
?We see the dialogue that we are embarking upon as extremely important and is based on five pillars which are areas of strategic importance, agriculture, healthcare, science and technology and education,? Clinton said after an interaction with the India Inc led by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata and Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani on corporate social responsibility here on Saturday.
Describing the power-breakfast with India?s
corporate bigwigs as ?exciting?, she said among the issues discussed were increasing agricultural production, providing micro-nutrients to infants, the need for clean energy, working together of Indian and US pharma companies and universities.
To a question if export of petro-products by Reliance to Iran figured on the agenda, Clinton said the issue was not discussed. ?That is something we will look at later.?
The discussions on climate change and clean
energy were ?extremely productive, she said, adding ?the point was made that there is no contradiction between poverty elimination and moving on carbon emission?.
The US and developed countries ?have made mistakes that have contributed significantly leading to the problems that we face of climate change,? she said, while hoping that India would not repeat those mistakes. However, she was silent on India?s demand for a greater role of the developed countries, including the US, in providing fund and technology for adaptation and mitigation to combat threats of climate change. Instead, she expressed hope that India would leapfrog the ?dirty technologies? that are leading to climate change while tackling the issue of poverty to uplift the life of its teeming population.
Addressing reporters at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the chilling reminder to last year?s terrorist attacks in the city, Clinton made it clear that the US would not pressure India to resume talks with Pakistan. ?We respect the sovereignty of India and Pakistan. It is for India and Pakistan to decide if they want to resume dialogue. US is supportive of any effort the world over to tackle the problem of terrorism?? She, however, said Pakistan was showing greater commitment to fight terrorism in the last six months. ?Based on what we have seen in the last few months, there has been action not just from the government level but also from the society to fight terror (in Pakistan),? she said. However, ?it is too early to tell the outcome coming from Pakistan?, she added.
?We are entering into a new promising era with India. Americans stood in solidarity with India in the aftermath of 26/11 attacks. India and US working together to defeat terrorism,? she said.