'We see India as a key partner that will help us shape the 21st century'

Excerpts from Robert Blake's testimony

Chairman Ackerman, Congressman Rohrabacher, Congressman Wilson, Congressman Costa, thank you very much for inviting me here today. And let me say that I appreciate the committee’s sustained interest in the South Asia region and welcome the opportunity to provide an overview of recent developments and our initiatives in South Asia.

Mr Chairman, the president has made it a top foreign policy priority to disrupt, dismantle and eventually defeat al Qaeda and affiliated extremist groups and eliminate their safe havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Under the direction of the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the broad-based inter-agency strategy to achieve this goal is now being implemented.

Pakistan has demonstrated a renewed commitment to countering the militant threat. Since May of this year, the government has made progress in pushing back the extremist encroachment in Swat, Lower Dir, and Buner. The United States and the international community have worked together to respond quickly to the internal refugee crisis that you mentioned resulting from these operations. We have committed over $300 million in immediate relief efforts and mobilized an international response.

Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Holbrooke have personally rallied the international community for its assistance, most recently in Europe and the Gulf, to ensure that UN agencies on the ground are able to respond effectively to the needs of the displaced.

As the Afghan elections approach, we’re encouraging the Afghan people to determine the issues that are important to them, demand that the candidates explain their programs, and vote for their future. We are working with the Afghan government and the international community to help ensure an electoral process that is credible, secure and inclusive. And we’ve provided $120 million to support the elections.

Mr. Chairman, South and Central Asia is one of the least economically integrated regions in the world. As we implement the president’s strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, we are working closely — we are working more closely to knit these two countries with their surrounding neighbors and with their region and to open up foreign markets to their products. Integration is vital to creating interdependence, which will foster peaceful relations, closer cooperation and sustain vibrant economies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the broader region.

The establishment of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones as called for in legislation currently being considered by Congress will be an important step in stimulating economic growth in both countries and drawing people away from extremism. And let me say that we appreciate the House’s support for the ROZ legislation.

In partnership with other US departments and agencies, my staff has engaged donors, host governments and the private sector, and established working groups on regional economic integration and cooperation. We’re working on power transmission, gas pipelines, road development, railroads, trade facilitation, border crossings, information and communication technology and water.

Mr. Chairman, President Obama and Secretary Clinton have both expressed a deep commitment to building stronger ties with India, a commitment based on mutual respect and mutual interests. As Secretary Clinton recently put it in a speech here before the US-India Business Council, ‘We see India as one of a few key partners worldwide who will help us shape the 21st century.’

As you said, sir, this spring, the regional — the ruling Congress Party won a substantial victory in India. They have formed a coalition that is supportive of a stronger US-India relationship, and we look forward to working with Prime Minister Singh’s government to make that vision a reality.

Excerpts from the testimony of Robert Blake, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Washington, 25 June 2009