Biden loads up agenda for India, Singapore trip

“So the President and I are going to continue to reach across the ocean, both East and West, particularly to the indispensable Pacific nations, to help us shape a prosperous future, for America, for their people, and — I would argue — for the world.”

{mosads}Blden and his wife Jill will arrive in Delhi on Monday and head to Mumbai on Tuesday, where the vice president will make a policy speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange, before heading off to Singapore on Thursday. 

Singapore is one of 12 nations that have signed on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The 18th round of negotiations continue next week. 

Biden said the U.S. and its TPP partners will aim to complete the trade deal this year.

He sees the parallels between issues here and the rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific, an administration official said. 

Overall, Biden said the “goal is to help tie Asia-Pacific nations together — from India to the Americas — through strong alliances, institutions and partnerships.”  

Officials said that while he will meet with the nation’s top leaders, Biden’s aim is to appeal to the Indian people as an avenue to improving the relationship between the two nations. 

He will further detail the economic potential between the two nations, especially on the trade front.

“In the last 13 years, we’ve increased fivefold our bilateral trade, reaching nearly $100 billion,” Biden said Thursday.  

“But if you look at it from a distance there is no reason, that if our countries make the right choices, trade cannot grow fivefold or more,” he said during the Center for American Progress event. 

India announced this week that it will relax caps on foreign direct investment in certain sectors.  

“We still have a lot of work to do on a wide range of issues, including the civil nuclear cooperation, a bilateral investment treaty and policies protecting innovation,” Biden said.  

“There’s a lot of work to do. But we believe doing — going with an open mind and listening, as well as making our case, we believe it can be done.”

The dialogue with India has ramped up in recent weeks as lawmakers have aired their concerns about a lack of intellectual property protection and other trade policies that favor domestically based Indian interests.

Secretary of State John Kerry held a series of meetings about those issues earlier this month, and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman met with Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last week in Washington.

Froman said he was pleased to see India propose lifting its foreign direct investment restrictions.

During that meeting, he underscored the importance of avoiding policies that disadvantage imports and the prospect that the two nations will forge a U.S.-India Bilateral Investment Treaty.

He expressed his and President Obama’s commitment to continuing the rebalance.

“Twenty, even 10 years ago, some might have suggested that India be left out of discussions about the Asia-Pacific,” Biden said Thursday. “One of the reasons why President Obama called our relationship with India ‘a defining partnership of the century ahead’ is that India is increasingly looking east as a force for security and growth in Southeast Asia and beyond.”

In his Thursday remarks he highlighted climate change and promoting clean energy, security issues, including the assurance that North Korea does not develop nuclear weapons, and an agreement on maritime policy in the South China Sea to better stabilize the region.

“North Korea can have peace and prosperity like the rest of the region, but only without nuclear weapons,” he said. “Now, North Korea is calling for dialogue. But we are ready. We are ready, but only if North Korea is prepared to engage in genuine negotiations.”