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       Obama: US, India Should Work Together on Poverty, Energy Projects

   by VOA News

   President Barack Obama said the United States can become India's "best
   partner" as he concluded a three-day visit to New Delhi on Tuesday.

   "India and the United States are not just natural partners. I believe
   that America can be India's best partner," Obama told an audience of
   young people at a town hall meeting.

   He said the United States wants to partner with India to lift people
   out of poverty, further industrial and technological growth and fight
   climate change. He said India can be a powerful agent for change in its
   neighbors as well, particularly in promoting the need for child
   vaccinations.

   Obama also called for promotion of cleaner fuels to help fight climate
   change, and forcefully expressed that India and the United States can
   agree on the need for a world without nuclear weapons. India and the
   United States are two among a handful of nations around the globe with
   nuclear weapons.

   On Monday, President Obama pledged $4 billion in American investments
   and loans to India, but said trade between the world's two largest
   democracies is still marked by "so much untapped potential."

   Obama told a business conference attended by U.S. and Indian corporate
   executives there are "still too many barriers, hoops to jump through"
   in completing deals between the two countries. He noted that bilateral
   U.S.-India trade totals only $100 billion annually, less than one-fifth
   of American business deals with Chinese companies.

   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged reforms in his country to
   cut business taxes and eliminate obstacles that have deterred
   corporations from investing there. The World Bank has rated India as
   one of the most difficult places in the world on the ease of doing
   business, but Modi vowed to push it much higher.

   Earlier Tuesday, Obama was the guest of honor at a dazzling Republic
   Day parade marking India's first constitution as an independent state,
   which took effect January 26, 1950. The American leader was the first
   U.S. president to attend the annual celebration, which included a vast
   array of bands, troops, military hardware and traditional Indian
   dancers.

   The two leaders spent Sunday bonding with each other and sealing a
   clutch of deals.  They announced they had reached a "breakthrough" in a
   long-stalled nuclear power agreement.

   The U.S. signed a deal with India in 2008 to provide civilian nuclear
   technology. But implementation has been stalled over an Indian law that
   makes companies that build and supply the equipment liable in case of
   an accident.

   Both sides agreed Sunday to set up a multi-million-dollar insurance
   pool that does not force India to change its laws. Details are not
   clear, but President Obama called Sunday's agreement an important step
   that shows how both sides can work together to elevate relations. Prime
   Minister Modi said he is pleased India and the U.S. can cooperate
   commercially under Indian and international law.

   Obama is skipping a planned visit Tuesday to the Taj Mahal, to fly to
   Saudi Arabia to pay his respects following last week's death of King
   Abdullah.
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   n-poverty-energy-projects/2614904.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-us-india-should-work-together-on-poverty-energy-projects/2614904.html