India, US join hands against terror, proliferation

India and the United States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on counter-terrorism and five other pacts as they ventured to chart their ties as "one of the defining relations" in the 21st century in which India will have a leadership role in the region and the world.

Besides the Memorandum of Understanding on 'Advancing Global Security and Countering Terrorism', the two sides signed pacts covering education and development, health cooperation, economic trade and agriculture, and green partnerships.

The pacts were signed during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the first foreign leader to be hosted as the State Guest under the 10-month-old Obama Administration.

Under the MoU on 'Advancing Global Security and Counter Terrorism', the two sides committed to redouble their collective efforts to deal effectively with terrorism, while protecting their countries' common ideals and shared values.

They also committed themselves to strengthening global consensus and legal regimes against terrorism.

Under the MoU, they supported an early start of negotiations on a multilateral, non-discriminatory and internationally verifiable Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty.

The two leaders looked forward to the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit and agreed to consult each other regularly.

They affirmed their commitment to work together to prevent the spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction- and missile-related technology and to realise their shared vision of a world free of nuclear weapons.

With an aim of enhancing US-India cooperation on education and development, the two sides launched the Singh-Obama 21st Century Knowledge Initiative which will provide $10 million in combined funding to increase university linkages and support junior faculty development between US and Indian universities.

The two sides also launched "Green Partnership" to strengthen US-India cooperation on clean energy, climate change, and food security, reflecting their commitment to taking vigorous action to fight climate change.

They also announced launch of an Indo-US Clean Energy Research and Deployment Initiative, which is supported by US and Indian government funding and private sector contributions.

This new Initiative will include a Joint Research Centre operating in both the United States and India to foster innovation and joint efforts to accelerate deployment of clean energy technologies. The Initiative will facilitate joint research, scientific exchanges, and sharing of proven innovation and deployment policies.

India and the US also launched a new Agriculture Dialogue and agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation and Food Security that will set a pathway to robust cooperation between the governments in crop forecasting, management and market information; regional and global food security through the L'Aquila Food Security Initiative; science, technology, and education; nutrition; and expanding private sector investment in agriculture.

The United States and India expect cooperation under the agreement to expand access to knowledge to improve productivity, safety, and nutritional quality of food crops; to strengthen market institutions and foster growth of agribusiness investment and improve food security and access to adequate quantities and quality of food, particularly for women and young children.

Renewed bilateral cooperation in the field of intellectual property through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office and Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The memorandum and action plan will focus on human resource development, capacity building and public awareness programs in intellectual property protection and enforcement.