India, U.S. have common goals in emerging global scenario: Biden

Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has said America and India have common goals in the emerging global scenario.

He said, the issue is no longer what the U.S. can do for India, but what both countries can do together in the world. Biden also said no two other countries have so much at stake or in common in the emerging global scenario.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan statement, issued after Biden met President Pranab Mukherjee, quoted Biden as saying that relations between both countries is critical for the entire region.

Welcoming Biden, Mukherjee said India appreciates his strong voice of support for India-related issues in the Senate, including the bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.

"India accords the highest priority to its relationship with the United States. India-US relations are based on shared fundamental values and a growing convergence of interests," he added.

The President further said over the last decade, two countries bilateral relations have evolved into a global partnership, which President Obama rightly described as 'one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century'.

"India and U.S.A. have more than thirty dialogue mechanisms covering every possible aspect of engagement between any two countries. Strong people-to-people ties are the bedrock of relationship between the two countries," he added.

Asserting that India and the U.S. are both open and pluralistic societies, Mukherjee said: "People of both countries share a strong culture of education and enterprise, which has brought the two countries closer."

"The community of skilled professionals has been a champion of stronger India-U.S. ties and has contributed enormously to expansion of trade and people to people ties," he added.

A banquet was hosted in honour of Biden who arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a four-day visit to India. Addressing the banquet, Vice President Hamid Ansari said, India and the U.S.should jointly counter the threat of terrorism and extremism with a realistic perspective of the dangers they posed to global peace.

Biden also met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.

His visit to India is expected to lay the ground work for a visit to the United States of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in September-October, during which he is expected to hold meetings with President Barack Obama.