India and the US have agreed on 'concrete partnerships' in the area of energy efficiency, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday after visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed climate change with Indian officials.
"I want to say that both sides have agreed on the need of partnerships, concrete partnerships, on projects in various fields like energy efficiency, solar energy, biomass, energy-efficient buildings of the type that you are seeing here today," said Ramesh, who was flanked by Clinton.
"We have made a good beginning. We have taken a small step today. We will continue our engagements in multilateral forums. But we will also have bilateral engagements," he said.
The minister's comments came after Clinton visited the ITC Green Building in Gurgaon, a boom business hub adjoining Delhi. The building showcases environment-friendly practices in India.
Clinton, who began her two-day visit to the national capital after visiting Mumbai, was accompanied by US special envoy on climate change Todd Stern, US ambassador-designate to India Tim Roemer and senior US embassy officials.
She addressed a closed-door conference on climate change that was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran.
{{/usCountry}}She addressed a closed-door conference on climate change that was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran.
{{/usCountry}}Ramesh said: "We discussed our common concerns and, most importantly, we will launch a number of partnerships between the US and India in various fields. I have made some specific proposals to madam the secretary of state."