India, US to revamp energy ties

New Delhi: India and the United States have agreed to revamp their strategic energy partnership with a greater focus on cleaner energy sectors, an official statement said.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday held an ”introductory meeting” with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

The two leaders reviewed the India-US Strategic Energy Cooperation (SEP). The two nations will intensify efforts to take advantage of advanced US technologies and India’s rapidly growing energy market, the statement said.

”Both leaders agreed to revamp the India-US SEP to reflect the new priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden with focus on promoting clean energy with low-carbon pathways and accelerating green energy cooperation,” it said.

They agreed to prioritize greater collaboration in the cleaner energy sectors of biofuels, CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage), hydrogen production and carbon sequestration through technology exchange, joint R&D through Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R), among other initiatives.

”Both sides agreed to convene the third meeting of a revamped India-US Strategic Energy Partnership at an early date,” the statement said. ”They decided to intensify the efforts to take advantage of the complementarities of both the countries – advanced US technologies and rapidly growing India’s energy market, for a win-win situation through a cleaner energy route with low carbon pathways.”

Granholm became US Secretary of Energy in February this year.