IANS
New Delhi
America's recent support to India in a move to maintain balance in geopolitics, should have more economic content to ensure a sustained and positive policy architecture in the Asia Pacific region, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) said on Monday.
"The recent unequivocal India outreach stand of the United States to maintain balance in the geo-politics should have more economic thrust and content to ensure sustained positive policy architecture in the Asia Pacific, the IACC said in a statement here.
"The bonhomie demonstrated by President Trump by celebrating Diwali in the White House, followed up by the blunt statement of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that India is the strongest and most reliable ally in the Asia Pacific region to purge terrorism and disruptive forces from the region are pointers to a new and emerging partnership between India and the US,"it said."It is important to give a strong economic heft and gravitas to these developments to make it sustainable and enduring,"said IACC President Vasant Subramanyan.
Describing the US and India as"two bookends of stability on either side of the globe,"Tillerson last week proposed that both countries work together in the Indo-Pacific region to counter the disruptive force of China.
Speaking in Washington, Tillerson contrasted the manner of China's emergence with that of India."It (China) has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order - even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations'sovereignty,"he said.
Subramanyan noted that four areas required the immediate attention of both countries.
These are"infrastructure investment, manufacturing, technology and skill development, besides steps for augmenting bilateral trade. Pitching for a more positive involvement of India initiated International North-South Trade Corridor (INSTC), which would connect India, Iran, and Russia and Central Asia, IACC felt that this ambitious project should be backed more specifically and strongly by the US both in terms of geo-political and economic considerations."
According to IACC, China has taken a calibrated and diplomatic stance in its response to the evolving relationship between India and the US by describing it as a positive development."Some of the Chinese owned or controlled corporations are investing in India in various sectors.