Our Bureau

New Delhi , Dec. 8

INDIA is exploring the possibility of outsourcing the manufacture of defence components and spares for American contractors, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Shyam Saran, said.

Addressing the India Economic Summit here, he said the possibility of setting up a design bureau in the country was also being explored.

Mr Saran said that strategic initiatives such as the `Next Steps in Strategic Partnership' (NSSP), `High Technology Cooperation Group' (HTCG) and US-India Economic Dialogue have served as platforms to discuss issues and opportunities for partnerships.

He said the first phase of interactions between the two countries on the NSSP has been concluded. The two sides were also considering several other proposals for bolstering their commercial and economic relations.

He said in the area of biotechnology, the two sides were examining prospects of working together for setting up research institutions in India for carrying out, among other things, clinical trials. "A number of new areas are coming up for bringing the two countries together," he said.

Observing that the two countries shared a great deal in common, he said the four years of the Bush Administration and the last four years of the Clinton Administration have seen a "very significant transformation" in Indo-US relations.

According to Mr Saran, the essential element of the new relationship between India and the US is that a certain degree of predictability and certainty has come in on account of continuous and extended interactions between the two countries.

"Given the range of issues on which interactions with the US Administration is happening now, we do not foresee any uncertainty in the relationship," he said.

Mr Saran added that while entry into India may be relatively more difficult than China, US companies in India are making money, which is something that may not be true for the latter.

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