‘Closer India-US relations make the world safer’ 
Express India, March 18, 2006

Press Trust of India 

New York, March 18: Asserting that the Indo-US nuclear deal does not undercut the non-proliferation treaty, Indian Ambassador to Washington Ronen Sen has said the two countries have entered into a "new framework of cooperation" that has brought "tangible benefits" to both. 

"We are not in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) because we have never signed it, nor will we. But, we will never try to undermine the NPT either," he told a luncheon meeting at the East-West Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Thursday. 

He said the only people surprised by the Indo-US civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreement were those still "trapped in the mindset of the past," according to the centre's website. 

Sen stressed that the new relationship between the United States and India went far beyond the nuclear element that has claimed most of the media attention. 

"The partnership has brought tangible benefits to both countries," he said, adding "we have entered into a new framework of cooperation." 

He said the two countries have come together in a manner that "would have been inconceivable a couple of years ago." 

Sen characterised the recent India trip of US President George W Bush and its positive outcome as a "fundamental reaffirmation of (our) relationship with the United States." 

The agreements signed in New Delhi were "good for both countries," the Ambassador said adding the closer relationship between the two nations "makes the world safer." 

Sen also rejected the suggestion that the Indo-US accords were aimed at containing China, asserting that the strategic partnership between them is not aimed at any country. 

He agreed that New Delhi has "some outstanding territorial issues with China, and some difference in the area of proliferation," but said that "we don't like to talk of India or China, rather India and China." 

The ambassador named numerous fields and endeavours that would benefit from the closer cooperation between India and the US. Included were such areas as joint military exercises, cyber security, procurement, co-production, energy, aerospace, and increased trade. 

The bilateral trade now totals USD 40 billion a year, a figure Sen said should double in the next few years. 

Talking about outsourcing, Sen noted that the value of goods and services purchased by India from the United States far outpaced the economic value of some of American jobs going to his country.