THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SUSHMA SWARAJ)
(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 29 REGARDING “INDO US TALKS” FOR ANSWER ON 25.02.2015
(a) The President of the United States H. E. Barack Obama, accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, visited India from 25-27 January 2015 as the Chief Guest at India`s 66th Republic Day celebrations. He held discussions with Rashtrapatiji and Prime Minister on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Prime Minister and the US President assessed the extensive bilateral strategic and global partnership between India and the United States and pledged to continue to enhance cooperation across a wide spectrum of human endeavour for the betterment of lives of their citizens and that of the global community.
The areas identified for further bilateral cooperation include trade and investment, defence and homeland security, energy (including clean energy), climate change, education, health, Science and Technology, Space etc. India and the US also agreed to strengthen cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
To carry forward the bilateral cooperation across a range of sectors and in pursuance of the decisions taken in September 2014 during Prime Minister’s visit to the US, 18 Agreements were signed between India and the United States in the run up to the visit of the US President to India in January 2015. A list is attached.
(b) During the visit of the US President to India in January 2015, India and the US announced that they have reached an understanding on the issues related to civil nuclear liability and the Administrative Arrangement for civil nuclear cooperation. A set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Answers on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 and related issues has been published on the websites of Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Atomic Energy. There is no proposal to amend the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
(c) During discussions on a range of bilateral issues, Prime Minister raised with the US President the importance of ensuring easier access into the United States for Indian professionals, including the issue of H1-B visas. He also stated the need for the two countries to resume discussions on a bilateral Totalisation Agreement. The US President noted India’s concerns in this regard. India and the United States agreed to hold a discussion on the elements required in both countries to pursue a bilateral Totalisation Agreement.
(d) The visit of US President to India has succeeded in aligning the India-US partnership firmly behind India`s developmental needs and global aspirations.
Three documents which were jointly issued during the visit outline the outcomes from the visit and identify the way forward on bilateral cooperation. The three documents are as follows:
(i) A Joint Statement titled “Saanjha Prayaas, Sabka Vikaas; Shared Effort, Prosperity for All” that outlines the substantial achievements and the several agreements that were signed in the four months since the first Summit between Prime Minister and President Obama in September 2014 and identifies the way forward in bilateral engagement;
(ii) The India-US Delhi Declaration of Friendship to elevate the longstanding India-US Strategic Partnership and strengthen and expand bilateral relations;
(iii) The India-US Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region to promote peace, prosperity and stability in the region.
List of MOUs/Agreements signed between India and the US as part of the implementation of the decisions taken in September 2014 during Prime Minister’s visit to the US and in the run up to the visit of the US President to India in January 2015 mentioned in Part (a) of the Statement in reply to the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 29 regarding “Indo US Talks” for answer on 25.2.2015
1. Implementing Agreement between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to conduct the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission (September 30, 2014)
2. India-US Statement of Guiding Principles on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development (November 3, 2014)
3. MoU between US Department of Commerce and Ministry of Finance of India on the US – India Infrastructure Collaboration Platform (November 17, 2014 )
4. MoU between Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. and the Export-Import Bank of the United States with respect to cooperation on Clean Energy Projects(November 18, 2014)
5. MOU between USIBC and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) of India (November 20, 2014)
6. Statement of Cooperation for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information between the Reserve Bank of India and the US Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation (FDIC), Federal Reserve System, and Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) (December 9, 2014)
7. Framework on India-US Investment Initiative (January 12, 2015)
8. MoU between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Urban Development on Cooperation in the field of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) (January 13, 2015)
9. Memorandum of Cooperation between Ministry of Urban Development and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in the field of Cooperation for Implementation Support for Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban Sanitation) (January 13, 2015)
10. Project Annex I to the Implementing Agreement between India’s Department of Atomic Energy and the US Department of Energy for Cooperation in the Area of Accelerator and Particle Detector Research and Development for Discovery Science for High Intensity Proton Accelerators. (January 21, 2015)
11. MOU between Ministry of Finance and US Department of Treasury to enhance cooperation to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism (January 22, 2015)
12. Terms of Reference of the India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) Group (January 22, 2015)
13. India-US Research Development, Technology and Evaluation (RDT&E) Agreement (January 22, 2015)
14. Joint Declaration of Intent between the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for Providing Support to an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Gandhinagar) (January 23, 2015)
15. Joint Declaration of Intent between Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the US Department of State for Cooperation in the field of Information Communications Technology and Electronics (January 23, 2015)
16. MOU between the US Trade and Development Agency and Government of Andhra Pradesh on Cooperation in supporting the Development of Smart Cities in the State of Andhra Pradesh (January 25, 2015)
17. MOU between the US Trade and Development Agency and Government of Rajasthan on Cooperation in supporting the Development of Smart Cities in the State of Rajasthan (January 25, 2015)
18. MOU between the US Trade and Development Agency and Government of Uttar Pradesh on Cooperation in supporting the Development of Smart Cities in the State of Uttar Pradesh (January 25, 2015)
Note: Date of signature is shown in bracket
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