Ronendra Sen, right, the new Indian Ambassador to the United States, at a press conference at the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11. Seen at left is Gautam Bambawale, Press and Information Minister at the embassy. (Photo: Kiran Jagga)

Washington : Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Ronendra Sen began his tenure in Washington with a courtesy call on Secretary of State Colin Powell at the State Department on Aug. 11 during which they exchanged views on issues of bilateral and international importance.

Later in an informal chat with reporters at the Indian Embassy here, Sen said Powell expressed satisfaction at the development of the India-U.S. relations and how its momentum has been maintained in diverse areas after the elections. He made a specific note of how it has manifested in political contacts at high levels.

“In respect of maintaining of the relations, you know that both sides attach importance to Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) and apart from the political dialogue that is continuing, other exchanges in defense interaction, continuing air exercises in Alaska and talks on economic cooperation and counter-terrorism are also on.”

The NSSP is an agreement between India and the U.S. that lays out the beginnings of a series of “matched steps” in three areas: civilian nuclear development, space programs and high-technology trade. The dialogue on these issues is an ongoing process, and the targets include increasing India’s nuclear safety regimens and sharing satellite technology.

Sen said the discussions on NSSP was continuing in Washington, D.C. The Indian side of the High Technology Cooperation Group led by S. Jai Shankar, a joint secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, has begun talks with Kenneth Juster, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security; Christina Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia; and other officials.

Asked if anything tangible will emerge out of this meeting, Sen said, “It is aimed at concluding phase one of the NSSP. Either at this round or the next we will be able to do something, but at present the intention on both sides is that they should take off the ground.”

“I wouldn’t like to jump to conclusions on this, but there is commitment on both sides –– a desire to see the conclusion of this phase and this was an initiative which was taken by the President of U.S. and the Prime Minister of India in January this year, and obviously it will create a better a climate for cooperation in the sector that have been identified as civilian, nuclear energy space programs and high tech trade.”

Later this month, Sen said a meeting of the India-U.S. Economic Dialogue will be held.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, has been named the co-chairperson on the Indian side of the India-U.S. Economic Dialogue. Ahluwalia will work with his U.S. counterpart Stephen Friedman, the Economic Policy Assistant to President Bush. Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will act as Ahluwalia’s deputy in the dialogue.

Saran will interact with his U.S. counterpart Alan Larson, Under Secretary for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs in the Department of State.

The India-U.S. Economic Dialogue was set up in November 2001. It has five components –– finance and investment, commercial dialogue, trade policy, energy and environment.