India and the US on Friday extended for another five years a global development partnership agreement which provides joint assistance to their partner countries in areas of connectivity, trade and investments, healthcare and agriculture. Both sides signed the second amendment to the Statement of Guiding Principles (SGP) on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The SGP agreement was signed in November 2014 and the new amendment extended the validity up to 2026. “Under the agreement, India and US will pursue to provide capacity building assistance to partner countries in multiple zones, focusing primarily on agriculture, regional connectivity, trade and investments, nutrition, health, clean and renewable energy, women empowerment, disaster preparedness, water, sanitation, education and institution building,” the MEA said.
The US embassy stated the SGP between the US and India strengthened the combined capacities of the two sides to address global development challenges facing countries in the wider region and the world, specifically in Asia and Africa. “The US-India partnership is a significant contributor to regional and global stability and prosperity. Today the two nations restated their commitment, signing a five-year extension to the Statement of Guiding Principles on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development (SGP),” it said in a release.
Atul Keshap, the Charge d’Affaires of the in India, described extension of the agreement as a nod by the two sides to their joint commitment to global prosperity. “As a gesture of our joint commitment to global prosperity, today, the United States and India extended our global development partnership agreement, assuring our targets to achieve the development aspirations of partner countries, significantly in Asia and Africa. #USIndiaDosti,” he tweeted.
The MEA stated the second amendment stretches the scope of capacity building activities undertaken jointly by India and the US and also furnishes a consultative mechanism for biannual governing and review of performances undertaken under the SGP. “The agreement aids to fulfil the joint commitment of both nations to work jointly and strengthens their combined capacities to provide demand-driven development partnership,” the MEA said in a statement.
“This triangular cooperation with the US will aggregate India’s other ongoing and future development partnerships, capacity building and technical assistance with countries universally,” it said. The signing of the agreement came two days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken toured India during which both sides agreed to further extend cooperation in several sectors.
The amendment was signed by Abhilasha Joshi, Joint Secretary, Development Partnership Administration-II division in the MEA, and Karen Klimowsky, Acting Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in India.
