US Energy Secretary visits India next week

Washington: The India-US civil nuclear deal is expected to figure in talks when US energy secretary Samuel W. Bodman arrives in India next week for talks on energy cooperation between the two countries.

Bodman will highlight partnership in civil nuclear energy, which after finalisation, would enable India to benefit from international collaboration to attract new technology and investment in civil nuclear energy infrastructure.

Bodman will also encourage cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation and the coordinated use of strategic petroleum reserves in cases of a severe supply disruption, it said.

The energy secretary will meet prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and ministers from the power, petroleum ministries as wll as Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chirman of the planning commission 20 March. He will also visit Mumbai to discuss the India-US nuclear deal with the head of India's Atomic Energy Commission 22 March, after addressing the annual South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy on the previous day.

In addition, he will also interact with Indian business associations. In New Delhi he will deliver keynote remarks on advancing global energy security at FICCI and also participate in a roundtable discussion with Indian venture capitalists at CII breakfast, where the energy secretary will focus on how venture capital can play a key role in bringing new clean energy technologies to the marketplace.

Bodman's bilateral discussions with senior Indian officials and US and Indian business leaders will focus on encouraging trade and investment between the two and encourage cooperation in the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, including clean coal and renewable energy, to help India meet growing global energy demands in an environmentally responsible way.

Bodman will highlight the importance of increasing the use of energy efficient technologies, advancing laws and policies that promote transparency and sanctity of contracts, and furthering cooperation to reduce bottlenecks in electricity delivery, it said.