India, US extend provisions of pact on capacity building in partner countries

India and the US on Friday extended the provisions of an existing agreement that provides for jointly offering capacity-building assistance to their partner countries in multiple sectors such as connectivity, trade and investments, healthcare and agriculture. Both sides signed the second amendment to the Statement of Guiding Principles (SGP) on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The SGP agreement was signed in November 2014 and the fresh amendment extended the pact's validity up to 2026.

"Under the agreement, India and US will continue to offer capacity building assistance to partner countries in multiple sectors, focusing primarily on agriculture, regional connectivity, trade and investments, nutrition, health, clean and renewable energy, women empowerment, disaster preparedness, water, sanitation, education and institution building," the MEA said.


It said the second amendment expands the scope of capacity building activities undertaken jointly by India and the US and also provides for a consultative mechanism for biannual monitoring and review of activities undertaken under the SGP.

"The agreement helps fulfil the joint commitment of both nations to work together and leverage their combined capacities to provide demand-driven development partnership," the MEA said in a statement.

"This triangular cooperation with the US will complement India's other ongoing and future development partnerships, capacity building and technical assistance with countries globally," it said.

The signing of the agreement came two days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited India during which both sides agreed to further expand cooperation in several areas.

The amendment was signed by Abhilasha Joshi, Joint Secretary, Development Partnership Administration-II division in the MEA, and Karen Klimowsky, Acting Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in India.