US Vice President Joe Biden delivered the keynote address at an event organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC today. Lauding the tremendous progress made since the US-India civil nuclear agreement was signed in 2005, Vice President Biden stated that “a lot depends on the US-India bilateral relationship – not just for the two countries but for the region and the world”. He further suggested that mutual economic revival is the ballast of the relationship and pointed to the strides made in areas such as defense, cyber security, clean energy etc. He also acknowledged India’s developmental challenges, praised its efforts at inclusion, poverty reduction, gender empowerment and the innovative and entrepreneurial nature of its people.
The Vice President’s speech capped a daylong conference organized by CII and Carnegie “The Future of the U.S-India Partnership Ten Years after the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative” on July 13, 2015 in Washington DC. While the conference brought together some of the leaders behind the historic and landmark agreement, it also saw some of the finest minds in industry, polity and think tanks deliberating and celebrating ten years of US-India partnership.
The conference featured the key US & Indian negotiators that were involved in civil nuclear agreement as well as leaders from industry, think tank and administration of both the countries. Mr Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways, Government of India and Ms Condoleezza Rice, Former US Secretary of State addressed the audience via video conference.
Lauding the leadership and vision of PM Modi & President Obama and the positive momentum created in the last one year, the thought leaders charted pathways to further deepen this critical and strategic partnership, that not only encompasses the economic and the geo-political but also people to people ties.
Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said that “the US India relationship stands completely transformed today. The two countries now stand together as partners in almost every field of human endeavor.”
Mr Sumit Mazumder, President, CII mentioned that “the strengthening bilateral partnership between India and the US is not just in the interest of the two countries, but indeed the entire world. I believe what we are seeing now is a clarity of intent and commitment by both sides which is leading to tangible progress on the ground.”
14 July 2015
New Delhi