US, India pledge to enhance cooperations in finances

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From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Apr 07: US treasury secretary Tim Geithner is in New Delhi for expanded Indo-US collaborations. Geithner and India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee pledged to increase cooperations on macroeconomic issues and finances. They would soon meet in Washington. India is an indispensable partner in securing the future prosperity and security of the world, Geithner said quoting President Obama, the New York Times reported.
India's foreign minister S.M. Krishna is in Beijing. India and China who share so much which is in common between the two countries should work together and try to move closer together so as to make an impact on global affairs, Krishna was quoted as saying. We (China and India) are striving to rewrite the rules of the world a little more in our favour, Krishna said.
Mukherjee and Geithner discussed monetary and fiscal policies, banking regulations, managing capital flow and infrastructure. India's ageing infrastructure requires heavy doses of foreign assistance. Mukherjee and Geithner in New Delhi and Krishna in Beijing refrained from saying anything on remnimbi, China's currency. They said it was China's choice to do so.
Hamid Karzai whose ties with the US and the west are in tatters after he fiercely criticised Washington for destabilising situation in Afghanistan by branding his election as a fraud was dealt another blow by former UN envoy Peter Galbraith who said Afghan president is not only a fraud but a drug addict as well. The White House which is still debating whether to host Karzai or not said: "We have no evidence to support such outlandish allegations." The White House, however, warned Karzai not to take resort to untruthful, troubling, and confusing statements.