WASHINGTON: India and the United States will work "more closely" to harness space and nuclear technology as the two countries recognize the need for a strategic partnership, which is both "indispensable and inevitable" in the 21st century, says the Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen.
"As we look into the future, we find ourselves engaged in critical issues such as renewable and alternative energy, energy efficiency, increasing food productivity and fighting diseases. Both the nations will be working more closely in harnessing space and nuclear energy for the benefit of our people," Sen said at a function organized by the Historical Electronics Museum of Baltimore to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Indian space scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose.
"New Delhi and Washington recognize that a strategic partnership between the two countries is 'indispensable and inevitable' in the 21st century," he added. Sen also described the relationship between the two countries as a result of India's shared commitment for democracy, pluralism and individual liberty.
"But, it also derives its momentum from a rich history and a promising future of collaboration in harnessing science and technology for our common good," Sen said. Acknowledging Bose as the father of modern scientific research in India, Sen said his spectrum of scientific interests was broad and varied, like the electro magnetic radiation, his core area of research.
"Bose is generally acknowledged as the father of modern scientific research in India. Scientists and their work belong to the entire humanity, and by choosing to remember him today, reflects one of the strongest threads in the multi-faceted ties between India and the US the cooperation in the realm of science and technology."
"Through all the turns in the relations, science stood as an enduring symbol of our ties. The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) involved cooperation between Indian and US space agencies to bring education to distant parts of India in the early 1970s an idea that was ahead of its time. Our collaboration has covered medicine, oceanography, atmospheric science and education. Last month, the first Indian lunar mission carried two payloads from NASA," Sen said.