U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is within the Indian capital, where she is scheduled to fulfill the country's highest officials. Clinton is pressing energy-starved India to continue weaning itself off oil imports from Iran.
Before arriving within the Indian capital Monday, Secretary Clinton met in Kolkata with one among India's most influential regional officials - West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
It was her first major meeting since arriving in India from Bangladesh - but Banerjee says two widely anticipated topics weren't at the agenda.
In response to a reporter's question, Banerjee says she and Clinton failed to discuss the difficulty of foreign direct investment or a stalled agreement to share water from the Teesta river along the West Bengal/Bangladesh border.
Last year, an Indian government order would have permitted foreign ownership stakes in multi-brand retail operations in major cities. It'd have effectively allowed American corporate giants like Wal-mart to regulate supply chains for food and agriculture. Banerjee opposed the order, and compelled the govt to roll it back by threatening to withdraw her party from the ruling coalition.
Prior to the Banerjee meeting, Clinton indicated in a televised town hall discussion that she was more likely to raise the problem of foreign direct investment. "There's a huge amount of expertise that may be delivered to India on supply chain management, on developing relationships with small producers in order that production can be in larger quantity, and there may be every type of assistance with farmers on their agricultural production," she said. "So i feel there are numerous benefits that isn't be necessarily immediately perceived."
India Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced Monday India will be softening some controversial tax measures that had caused concern among international investors. It's unclear if the timing of the announcement is in anyway associated with Clinton's visit.
In New Delhi, Clinton is scheduled to go to with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi. She also plans to fulfill her Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, to set the stage for a U.S. - India strategic forum scheduled in Washington next month.
The issue of Indian oil imports from Iran also is expected to be high on Clinton's meeting agenda. The usa and Europe have placed sanctions against Teheran to deter what they think is a nuclear weapons program.
India would not back the sanctions, and is absolutely looking to boost non-oil trade with Iran. Still, Clinton acknowledged India's efforts to quietly reduce Iranian fuel imports, and he or she is anticipated to induce Indian leaders to do much more. "We appreciate what have been done and naturally, we wish to keep the pressure on Iran so whatever India or other countries can do, can help you us achieve that," she stated.
Meanwhile, Clinton confirmed Monday that she had personally authorized a $10-million bounty for info resulting in the arrest and prosecution of suspected Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed. Saeed is accused of an enormous role in planning the November 2011 terror attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people. There was some confusion in regards to the bounty since last month, when Washington's ambassador to Pakistan insisted the U.S. was not offering it.
Clinton also said Monday that she believes al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is found in Pakistan. In Islamabad, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told reporters that if Washington has evidence of his presence, then it's going to be provided to Pakistan because al-Qaida is an enemy of both countries.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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