The Hindu Business Line : `India, US need to look beyond security ties'

IT is for India and the US to take the official-level relationship beyond security-related issues and enlarge the scope to foster a better partnership on economic issues, according to the former US Ambassador to India, Mr Frank Wisner.

This partnership could be on the next round of world trade negotiations or on bilateral relationships that would take trade between the two countries forward, he said here on Thursday.

Mr Wisner was delivering the Abraham Lincoln memorial lecture on `Reflections on America and the world after September 11' organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, American Chamber of Commerce in India, and the US Consulate General, Chennai.

During his talk, Mr Wisner touched upon the US' efforts to tackle terrorism on a global scale after the September 11 attacks, its role in Afghanistan and in tackling the West Asian crisis, as also Indo-US relationship.

He said that American relationship with India should not be restricted to visits by heads of State and business leaders of the two countries, but needed to be deepened to include building ties between universities in the two countries as also health institutions.

He pointed out that the recent decision by the Government of India to allow commercial cultivation of Bt cotton was a signal to US biotech professionals to come to India and invest in processes and move forward.

Answering questions, Mr Wisner said the September 11 coincided with recession in the US economy, the growth out of which would be slower than expected. The recession had also forced industry to cut costs and not raise prices. Therefore, American companies were looking at more efficient ways for their back-office operations. They were looking to set up their back-office operations in India as a cost-efficient way of doing it and this presented a good business opportunity, he said.

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