PM identifies 5 'Es' in Indo-US ties

There is much to Indo-US relations than just the strategic partnership sought to be build for promoting a stable security edifice in Asia which is witnessing a rapidly rising China.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh identified five “Es,” which would be a new focus of the bilateral relationship –– economy, energy, environment, education and empowerment.
The five “Es” are the areas where the prime minister wants large US investments to come to India in the next few years.

Along with enhanced US investments in the five focus areas, Singh said his government’s efforts to build a new India could be helped by the highly successful Indian-American community in the US.

The prime minister once again emphasised that “our relations with the United States will be one of the most important pillars of our foreign policy.” And, he went on to add that his discussions with the US leadership “have made progress across the board in our shared objectives of making our economies more prosperous, our people and our world safer and planet greener.”

Rounding off his four-day visit to the United States on Wednesday with an address to a select gathering of the Indian-American community drawn from across the country, the prime minister welcomed the recent years’ trend of reverse brain drain - which he chose to call “brain gain”.

While India required huge investments in five “Es” and building modern physical infrastructure, the task also required a lot of “imagination and innovation.”
The Indian-American community can bring these to ingredients for India’s rapid development, he said.

To a loud applause of the audience, the prime minister said he had required President Barack Obama to bring along his daughters –– Malia and Sasha –– when he visits India next year along with First Lady Michelle Obama.

Though not all of them had turned up for the occasion, the Indian Embassy here had extended invitation nearly two dozen Indian-American community members who hold official positions in the Obama administration. Singh acknowledged the contribution of the Indian-Americans to strengthening Indo-US ties in the recent past. “I wish to record our deep appreciation for the enormous contribution your creativity, your hard work, and your good citizenship have played in bringing our two nations together,” he said.