Biden bats for more biz between India-US

US Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday called for further expanding the growing economic cooperation with India and expressed hope that, if right choices are made, bilateral trade could grow five-fold.

Lauding India as "a rising power", Biden patted its plans for future growth, saying the country had risen exponentially during the past decade mainly due to bold steps towards liberalization it took in 1991.

In this context, Biden said trade between India and the US grew five-fold to touch $100 billion in the past 13 years.

He was speaking on 'US-India Partnership' at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"We see tremendous opportunity and there is no reason, that if our countries make the right choices, the trade cannot grow five-fold or more," Biden said.

Welcoming the relaxation of FDI norms in certain sectors, Biden felt that a lot more was needed to be done to remove trade barriers.

"We have to do a lot of work on a wide range of issues like limit in FDI, inconsistent tax system, market access barriers, civil nuclear cooperation, bilateral investment treaty and policies protecting innovations," Biden said.

The first US vice president to visit India in over three decades, Biden appreciated India's regional role and welcomed its engagement and efforts to develop new trade and transportation links by land and by sea.

Simultaneously, he acknowledged the role of the Indian community in America's growth story saying the US has benefitted due to the "Indian human capital".

Biden said both the US and India have been targeted by terrorists and sought enhanced cooperation to tackle terrorism.

He said the US has been sharing intelligence with India on terror in order to avoid situations like 9/11 and 26/11, and supported India's claim for a permanent seat in a revamped UN Security Council.

Dwelling on Amreican ties with China, Biden termed it as "a healthy mix of competition and co-operation".

He called for enhanced engagement between India, China and the US. "The cooperation between the three big nations will help grow the world economy."

Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley and son-in-law Howard D. Crein, arrived in Mumbai early Wednesday on the second leg of his visit to India.

On Thursday, Biden will visit the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), at Powai.

The Bidens will also visit the new premises of the US Consulate at Bandra-Kurla Complex and interact with the staff, an embassy spokesperson added.