GUWAHATI, Sept 2 - The United States of America (USA) is for a permanent seat for India in the United Nation Security Council (UNSC). �I can assure you that we are working on the inter-governmental consultation initiated by the UN in this respect,� said US Ambassador to India Richard R Verma here today while addressing mediapersons here this afternoon.
The US Ambassador was on a two-day tour to the State since yesterday. The visit was a part of his familiarisation tour of India.
The US Ambassador told mediapersons that the United States considers India as an emerging economic power.
Answering another question, he said that two-third of the US aid to Pakistan is meant for welfare measures, like improvement in health and education sectors, while only one-third of the US aid to the South Asian country is meant for its defence purpose. �Our policy has been designed to restore peace and stability in Pakistan. We are quite clear that Pakistan should eliminate terrorism,� he said.
He said the United States is working together with India in the areas of security, business, education, etc. It is also working on how to improve bilateral trade with India.
Regarding bilateral trade, he said trade and commerce between US and India have shown signs of improvement. Compared to 10 years back, there is a significant improvement in this area. For example, in 2005, the size of US investment in India was $ 7 billion. But in 2014, the size has grown to $28 billion, he said and added, in 2005, only 200 US companies were working in India. But now, the number of US companies in India has crossed 500.
Emphasizing on the need to have a bilateral investment treaty between the US and India, he said there should be a single window provision to clear investment proposals in India.
For the United States, he said, power generation in the NE India may be an area of interest, and it is also working for greater connectivity between the NE States and South East Asia, which include improvement in digital connectivity, educational and business opportunities and people-to-people contact. The US is also for development of infrastructure of this part of India, he added.
According to a press release issued by the American Center of Kolkata here this evening, Verma had paid a courtesy call on Governor PB Acharya and had positive discussions about the future of US-India relations and Assam�s place in it.
The US Ambassador also interacted with regional business leaders on Tuesday evening and spoke on the US-Northeast India business connections at a programme hosted by North East Chapter of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.
Underlining the growth in the US-India trade, Verma said, �Bilateral trade has already reached $103 billion and it will soon be to the tune of $500 billion. We secured new deals in defence and energy and we are working hard on increasing bilateral investment flows between our two nations.�
Today, in a special address at the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, the Ambassador said, �US and India share a common goal of promoting, enabling and retaining women in science and increasing girls� and women�s access to science and technology.�
The US Ambassador also visited the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati campus. Addressing a gathering of over 500 undergraduate students, research scholars and key faculty members, he said, �I now refer to our partnership as a �Strategic Plus�, with the �plus� indicating a broader geographic zone of cooperation and engagement in more areas than ever before.�
The Ambassador also visited the famous Kamakhya temple during his trip, said the press added.
