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Clinton calls for better Indo-US economic ties

Calling upon India and the United States to get their economic relationship right, American President Bill Clinton today said the two nations would make major benefits from strong ties, especially in the cutting edge fields of information technology, biotechnology and clean energy.

Addressing the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, Clinton called for broadening and deepening the economic ties between the two countries.

Clinton was hopeful that America and India will also work together to launch a new global round that will promote economic development for all.

"Of course, trade should not be a race to the bottom in environmental and labour standards, but neither should fears about trade keep part of our global community forever at the bottom."

"I am for an open global trading system. But we must do it in a way that advances the cause of social justice around the world."

He said the challenge is to see that prosperity and growth of the information age require abandoning some of the outdated truths of the industrial age. Just as oil enriched nations who had it in the 20-th century, clearly knowledge is doing the same for the nations who have it in the 21st century. The difference is all people everywhere, and it will never run out can tap knowledge.

"Indians are at the forefront of research -- pioneering the use of solar energy to power rural communities, develop electric cars for use in crowded cities converting agricultural waste into electricity."

"If we can deepen our co-operation for clean energy, we will strengthen our economies and people's health and fight global warming. This should be a vital element of our new partnership," he said.

He said that another challenge is to protect the gains of democracy and development from the forces, which threaten to undermine them. "There is the danger of organised crime and drugs. There is the evil of trafficking in human beings., a modern form of slavery and there is the threat of terrorism."

"Yet another danger that is faced is the spread of weapons of mass destruction to those who might have no reservations about using them. This is why we must be vigilant in fighting the spread of chemical and biological weapons."

Clinton said it was India ''who knew if it could afford a sustained investment in chemical and nuclear forces, while meeting its goals for human development.''

Clinton said India must invest in education and literacy so that children have soaring dreams and the tools to realise them.

"We know we need to make a special commitment in developing nations to the education of young girls as well as young boys. Everything we have learned about development tells us that when women have access to knowledge, to health, to economic opportunity and to civil rights, children thrive, families succeed and countries prosper," he said.

"To promote development, it was important to conquer the diseases that kill people and progress. Last December, India immunised 140 million children against polio, the biggest public health programme in human history. I congratulate you on that," he said.

"I have launched an initiative in the United States to speed the development of vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS -- the biggest infectious killers of our time. This July, when our partners in the G-8 meet in Japan, I will urge them to join us," he said.

However, Clinton said, effective vaccines are years away. Especially, for AIDS, what was needed was commitment today to prevention, and that means straight talk and an end to stigmatising.

Clinton said that to promote development, it was important to stand with those struggling for human rights and freedom around the world and in the region. "I am proud America and India will stand together on the right side of history when we launch the community of democracies in Warsaw this summer," he said.

Clinton was hopeful that America and India will also work together to launch a new global round that will promote economic development for all.

He said one of the benefits of the world trade organisation is that it has given developing countries a bigger voice in global trade policy.

"Developing countries have used their voice to urge rich nations to open their markets further so that all can have a chance to grow. That is something the opponents of the WTO don't fully appreciate."

UNI

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