U.S. Wants Strong Partnership With India: Clinton

Visiting U.S. President Bill Clinton said here Tuesday that the United States wants to build a "strong partnership" with India in the 21st century.

Clinton, the first U.S. President to visit India in the past 22 years, made the remarks during a meeting with the press following two hours of talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi on Tuesday morning.

Clinton also announced that during the talks he extended an invitation to Vajpayee to visit Washington and the prime minister accepted it.

"Prime Minister Vajpayee has accepted my invitation to visit the United States later this year," Clinton told the reporters.

"I'm sure as a result of this visit and as a result of discussions, a new chapter is being added into our bilateral relations," the Indian prime minister said at the post-summit joint press conference.

Meanwhile, according to a "Vision Statement" on the future of the Indo-U.S. relations in the new millennium signed by Clinton and Vajpayee on Tuesday after their talks, India and the United States have agreed on a number of steps to intensify and institutionalize the dialogue between the two countries.

The Prime Minister of India and the President of the United States will hold regular bilateral summits in alternating capitals or elsewhere, including on the occasions of multilateral meetings, to review the bilateral relations and consult on international development and issues, said the statement, adding that the two leaders will also remain in "frequent contact" on telephone and through letters.

The two countries will also hold an Annual Foreign Policy Dialogue at the level of India's External Affairs Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State, and make the ongoing Dialogue on Security and Non-proliferation continue, said the document.

The statement said that the existing Foreign Office Consultations between India's Foreign Secretary and the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs will continue, while a Dialogue on Asian Security will also be conducted as part of the Foreign Office Consultations.

Leaders of both countries expressed satisfaction at the establishment of the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism and its productive first meeting in February this year and agreed that the group should continue to meet regularly, the statement said.

In a bid to institutionalize bilateral economic dialogue between the two countries, the statement said, leaders of both countries have decided to set up an Indo-U.S. Financial and Economic Forum, start an Indo-U.S. Commercial Dialogue and establish an Indo-U.S. Working Group on Trade. Meanwhile, a high- level Co-ordinating Group will also be set up to help promote the bilateral economic dialogue between the two countries.

The two sides have also agreed to set up a Joint Consultative Group on Clean Energy and Environment and an Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum, the statement added.

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