In first official indication that it is likely to ease its hightech export control policy against New Delhi, the US today said talks were making "good progress" in the field ahead of President Barack Obama's visit which will reflect India as a "partner and not as a target".
Travelling here to firm up key deliverables during Obama's visit to India next month, US Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns and Assistant Secretary for South Asia Robert Blake met External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and senior officials, including National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.
According to sources, Krishna conveyed India's concerns over recent US government moves to curb outsourcing and talked about easing of restrictions that bar US high-tech exports to India.
Terming his meeting with Rao as "excellent", Burns told reporters that there was a "rich agenda" for Obama's meetings with Indian leadership encompassing a whole range of issues from agriculture to expansion of defence cooperation to counter-terrorism cooperation.
US was also committed to working together to realise the full potential of the historic civil nuclear agreement between the two countries, he said.
"In working together to adapt and reform the export control policies to reflect the realities of the 21st century partnership, so that India is treated as a partner and not as a target," he said, adding that there was "good progress" being made on all these issues.
"In all these areas, there is extraordinary promise and extraordinary opportunity and we are determined to continue to working together and as I told you, I believe we are making good progress," he said.
The US indications to ease its export control policies come a few months after Japan considerably liberalised its control policies and took 11 entities off from negative end- user list.
Terming Obama's visit as a "historic moment" in relations between India and the US, Burns said his country had deep strategic interest in India's emergence as global power and it was determined to continue working to adapt the international architecture to reflect the realities of 21s century.
"This is the moment to demonstrate to both of our people the tangible benefits of partnership", he said.
The Burns-Blake visit, officials said, is likely to be the last major top-level visit of US officials to India before the Obama visit, sources said.
The visit comes as a quick follow-up to the series of ministerial visits from India to the US in the last one month, including by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and Foreign Minister S M Krishna, all of whom had met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Interestingly, Burns will also travel to Kolkata to meet West Bengal Governor and former National Security Adviser M K Narayanan who had played a key role in wrapping up the complex negotiations that led to the signing of the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal.
"Burns will travel to Kolkata to meet with Narayanan and will pay homage at Mother Teresa's grave," a US Embassy statement said. Burns and Blake will leave tomorrow for the US.
