U.S. TREASURY AND INDIA’S MINISTRY OF FINANCE
LAUNCH HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP TO GUIDE ECONOMIC COOPERATION
DELHI – U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner and Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today launched the U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership to strengthen bilateral engagement and understanding on macroeconomic, financial sector and infrastructure-related issues. The Partnership’s launch affirmed the commitment of the U.S. and India to cooperate on economic and financial issues – both important in addressing shared challenges and achieving shared goals in this century.
“This Partnership creates a framework that is commensurate with the growing importance of our economic relationship and the significant business and cultural ties that already exist between our two nations,” said Secretary Geithner. “Deepening our ties with India is critical to the broader global effort to develop a framework for a strong, sustainable and balanced growth and will facilitate more trade, investment and job creation in our two countries.”
“India and the United States are bound by common values of democracy, market economies and pluralism,” said Minister Mukherjee. “I am confident that this Partnership launch will unleash the energy and enterprise of people. It will make the relationship between two nations more vibrant and also help address global challenges.”
The newly-launched dialogue will encompass discussions of economic developments in both countries as well as bilateral policy actions in the broader context of the G-20 commitment to strong, sustainable and balanced growth. The ministers agreed that they, and their senior officials, will continue to consult closely on topics of mutual interest and concern.
Given the significant infrastructure needs in the years ahead, the Partnership will also serve as a forum to share experiences and engage in a robust and ongoing dialogue on infrastructure financing, including the potential of private-public partnerships to unlock private sector financing for critical investment.
The Partnership will meet next at the Cabinet level in the United States, led by Secretary Geithner and Minister Mukherjee. Working group meetings, at the level of senior officials and experts, will be held during the year to advance discussions on specific economic policy areas. At the inaugural Partnership session, working group discussions focused on macroeconomic policies needed to sustain growth in incomes and jobs; measures to reform financial regulation and deepen capital markets as a means to improve growth; and increasing financing for infrastructure investment critical to future productivity and economic growth.
At the end of the inaugural session, a Joint Statement was issued by Minister Mukherjee and Secretary Geithner.
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY GEITHNER AT LAUNCH OF THE
U.S.-INDIA ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PARTNERSHIP
AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Thank you.
Minister Mukherjee and I just concluded an important meeting to launch the U.S. – India Economic and Financial Partnership. I want to thank the Minister and his staff at the Ministry for being such gracious hosts. As you all know, the Minister has been key to the economic reform process that began in India years ago. It is an honor to be seated with him here today.
We meet at a time of encouraging prospects for the U.S. and Indian economies, and the beginnings of global economic recovery.
A year ago, the heads of state of India and the United States came together in London with the leaders of the other members of the G-20 and embarked on a powerful and coordinated program of economic stimulus. They committed to act to restore stability to the financial systems of the major economies, to provide financial support to emerging and developing economies on a dramatic scale, to keep markets open to trade and investment, to restore growth in their own economies, and to lay the foundation for international financial reform.
Those actions worked, and the world is now starting to come out of the great recession, the most severe crisis since the Great Depression.
In the U.S., the economy has now been growing for three quarters. While unemployment remains unacceptably high, the private sector has added jobs during four of the past five months, private investment is increasing, productivity growth is very high, the financial system is recovering, private savings have improved, and our economy is now borrowing significantly less from the rest of the world.
We are also engaged in an important set of reforms to improve our private health care system, to strengthen our education system, to rebuild our infrastructure, to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, to restore fiscal sustainability, and to fundamentally restructure and reform our financial system.
India navigated this financial crisis with a steady hand, and has emerged from the global recession stronger and faster than most other large economies.
During our discussions today, the Minister and his colleagues outlined the opportunities and challenges ahead for the Indian economy, and the policy reforms they are undertaking to raise the rate of overall economic growth, and to extend the benefits of growth more broadly. India has a dynamic entrepreneurial private sector, a demonstrated ability to compete in the global market, and a commitment to quality higher education. With those strengths and the Minister’s proposed reforms, India’s economic growth, already impressive, will be even stronger in the future.
Although we start from different positions, we face some problems in common, such as how to design a private financial system that can finance future innovation, how to extend financial services more broadly to people outside the banking system, and how to finance our very substantial infrastructure needs in ways that effectively leverage private investment. We also face the urgent challenge of making sure that the gains from economic growth in both of our countries are broadly shared. Economic growth must be about improving the prospects for all our citizens.
India has made remarkable progress, and I am grateful to the Minister for giving me the chance to learn more about what is happening across the Indian economy.
Mr. Minister, President Obama and Prime Minister Singh recognize that, as two of the world’s largest economies, we need to work more closely together. Our ability to cooperate on economic and financial issues will be critically important to the success of global efforts to create conditions for a more stable global financial system, more balanced global economic growth that is less dependent on the willingness of Americans to live beyond our means, more effective and representative international financial institutions, and a more open global trading system.
President Obama remains committed to strengthening our bilateral relationship. As he said, “India is an indispensable partner in securing the future prosperity and security of the world.”
Our economic relationship presents huge opportunities for both India and the United States, and I look forward to working with you to realize the full potential of this Partnership.
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