Meaningful cooperation

THE Indo-US Economic and Commercial Sub-Commission has explored — and successfully to a great extent — fresh avenues of cooperation between the two countries. Its two-day deliberations in New Delhi pointed to a new realism that had been missing from the economic ties all these years. The Americans now show greater appreciation of Indian viewpoints on trade and aid, even though they cling to their favourite concepts, howsoever controversial and outmoded. The Sub-Commission’s main object has been to assess various commercial fields where relations between New Delhi and Washington could be strengthened. As a result of the fruitful negotiations, possibilities of a rise in the export of Indian goods to the US and of American investment in India have improved considerably. The joint communique said: “Both sides recognised the importance of this area of practical and clear-cut rules for the entry of foreign investment and their stability once investment had taken place.” The American delegation wanted certain clarifications on India’s investment policies in the context of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act and the guidelines issue under it. Finance Minister C. Subramaniam has clarified the Indian position in this regard. He told the forum of financial writers in New Delhi on Sunday that foreign investment would be confined mainly to areas where substantial exports were possible and that foreign knowhow would be brought only if it permitted the development of indigenous technology. Indo-American economic ties would get the necessary boost once Washington shows the requisite awareness of the needs of developing countries.