Sify News: Lauding India’s growing role in global bodies, US President Barack Obama Monday said the US welcomed India as it prepared for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. ‘We welcome India as it prepares to take a seat at the United Nations Security Council,’ said Obama in an address to members of the two houses of parliament. “That is why I can say today-in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member,’ he said to loud applause from over 780 MPs.
Houses of Parliament, Delhi: image indiareport.com
Hindustan Times: ‘Bahut dhanyavad’. This is how US president Barack Obama thanked people of India for the warm welcome and hospitality he and American First Lady Michelle Obama received during their India visit. The ‘thank you’ in Hindi during his 35-minute address at the Central Hall of Parliament was received by thunderous applause by the law makers which included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and top BJP leader LK Advani.
“At every stop, we have been welcomed with the hospitality for which Indians have always been known. So to you and the people of India, on behalf of me, Michelle and the American people, please accept our deepest thanks. Bahut dhanyavad,” he said. The American President wound up his speech by saying ‘Jai Hind’ which was also received by the MPs with cheers.
AFP: US President Barack Obama criticised India on Monday for failing to condemn rights abuses in Myanmar, saying democracies with global aspirations could not ignore “gross violations” in other countries. “When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed, as they have been in Burma (Myanmar), then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent,” Obama said in an address to the Indian parliament. “Faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the responsibility of the international community, especially leaders like the United States and India, to condemn it,” he said. “If I can be frank, in international fora, India has often shied away from these issues,” he added.
Earlier in his speech, Obama had, to sustained applause, given his backing to India’s push for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Times of India: The United States and India on Monday signed six agreements besides a plethora of business deals inked separately during US President Barack Obama’s trip to India.
- India-US agreement to set up a joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre. It will be backed by 50 million dollars by both sides over five years and work to complete joint research in solar, biofuels and energy efficiency.
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership. US will cooperate in India’s plans for a nuclear centre, to promote nuclear security and address threats of nuclear terrorism.
- MOU to establish an India-US Energy Cooperation Programme. It will mobilise private sector expertise and resources to address clean energy-related issues in India and the US.
- Agreement on technical cooperation to study India’s annual monsoon rains. Cooperation on weather forecasting for India’s crucial annual monsoon.
- MOU between India and the US on shale gas resources which will see US technology used to assess shale gas resources in India.
- MOU on establishing and operating a Global Disease Detection Centre in India, which will set up a laboratory in New Delhi designed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Hindustan Times: India and the United States will set up a $10 billion infrastructure debt fund to help develop India’s physical and social infrastructure, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Monday. “The Governments of India and the United States have agreed in principle to set up the fund on the recommendation of the India-US CEO Forum,” Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the US-India Business Council in New Delhi. Sharma said India planned to invest $1 trillion in the infrastructure sector in the next five years and a substantial part of the investment would come from the private sector and overseas investment.
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