MUMBAI: Cooperation between India and the United States in nuclear energy, shale gas, electricity and renewable power will be high on the agenda during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in September, a government official said while a Cabinet minister told ET that India would want an equitable relationship.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who landed in India this week for the India-US Strategic Dialogue ahead of Modi’s visit to the US, also has energy issues on his agenda.

In addition to holding the strategic dialogue, Kerry will meet PM Modi, the US state department spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said in a statement. “The first Cabinet-level meeting with a US official since the inauguration of the new Indian government and the discussion will cover the full range of bilateral issues, including expanding bilateral trade, tackling climate change, improving India’s energy security through cooperation in clean energy and energy access,” the statement said.

Power, coal and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal said there was a lot of scope for energy cooperation. “There is no doubt that there is immense scope of collaboration in the power, coal, solar and wind energy sectors between the US and India, but provided that there is an equitable relationship where the interests of both the nations are served equally,” he told ET.

Narendra Taneja, national convener of the BJP’s energy cell, said Indian firms have invested a lot in the shale gas sector in the US and many issues would be discussed.

“Discussions and active engagement on energy security and collaboration in the nuclear, shale, LNG and clean energy projects which involve technology transfer and encouraging US investments in the Indian energy sector are likely to be a key part of the Prime Minister’s agenda when he visits the US in September,” Taneja said.

As a precursor to Modi’s visit, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) said that the Fifth USIndia Energy Partnership Summit would take place from September 30 to October 1 in Washington, DC, during the PM’s visit to the US.

At a pre-summit round-table discussion held in Delhi on Wednesday, US deputy secretary of energy Daniel Poneman said, “The US and India are playing important roles globally in terms of energy security and climate change. I believe USIndia bilateral relations are poised to create huge opportunities in the energy sector.”

Source:  The Economic Times