The US and India will launch an economic and financial partnership next month, with a permanent Cabinet-level bilateral dialogue a key feature, the US Treasury said on Thursday.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will travel to India on April 6 and April 7 to launch the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership in New Delhi with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The partnership, to focus on macroeconomic policy, the financial sector and infrastructure financing, will meet at the Cabinet level, alternately in the US and India, led by Geithner and Mukherjee, a Treasury statement said.
Working group meetings will be held throughout the year to advance discussions on specific economic areas, it said.
The partnership was first announced in November when US President Barack Obama hosted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the first state visit since he entered the White House in January last year.
The US already has a standing dialogue with fellow emerging Asian giant China.
Officials said that unlike the dialogue with China, which is multi-ministerial, the forum with India was focused purely on economic and financial regulatory policy, led by the US Treasury and the Indian finance ministry.
“We are still working through how frequently the ministers will meet,” one official said.
Former US president George W. Bush conceived of the US dialogue with China to focus on the economy, but Obama expanded it to cover strategic issues as well. Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the dialogue with China in July in Washington.
The US-India partnership “will serve as a platform for greater cooperation on economic issues of importance to both nations,” the Treasury statement said.
“Both countries recognize the importance of expanding bilateral economic engagement, noting the rapid growth of US-India economic ties and the increasing range of global macroeconomic and financial issues on which the United States and India cooperate,” it said.
During the trip, Geithner will also visit Mumbai, India’s financial center, to meet with Indian and US business leaders.
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