MEA, American agency join hands to boost regional ties

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs has joined hands with the US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to strengthen regional integration and connectivity - particularly in the areas of energy, trade and investment - in third countries.
The government said the US and India shared a strong commitment to promoting economic growth, development, regional cooperation and connectivity and that the proposed cooperation between MCC and MEA's Development Partnership Administration was in line with that spirit.
"It is more a statement of political intent to collaborate together. We need to see how it develops in the future,'' said an official source.
While the MCC is a US government agency that provides eligible countries with grants to fund country-led solutions for reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth, DPA looks after implementation of India's development cooperation programmes with partner countries.
According to a joint statement, the two agencies will pursue a range of activities designed to promoting sustainable economic growth, identifying and developing strategic opportunities and cooperating at the country or regional level in mutually-identified countries or regions (partner countries).
The statement said this could comprise exchange of information and experience to project development or implementation in partner countries, providing advisory or technical assistance to partner countries regarding project and sector management, project implementation, and economic growth promotion strategies in relevant sectors.
The two agencies will also look to facilitate site visits to cross-border projects.
The partnership is also significant in the context of the US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region which the two countries signed in 2015.