IPR should not come in the way of tech transfer, PM tells Clinton

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday told visiting US secretary of state Hillary Clinton that US and other developed countries should not let intellectual property rights come in the way of transfer of technology that developing countries needed to fight the challenges of climate change and arranging food security for their populations.
Singh also took up with Clinton the concern of Indian business over growing protectionism in the US.
The visiting US dignitary also called on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in the evening. The meeting at 10, Janpath was attended by Rahul Gandhi and senior AICC leader Karan Singh.
On the IPR issue, Singh was taking off from where he left at the recent G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy. The G-8 deliberations had seen him forcefully taking up the issue with US President Barack Obama and other leaders of rich countries. "There could be no compromise on this," Singh had told his interlocutors in Italy, winning admiration from leaders of developing countries like Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.
Singh's advocacy for technology transfer is central to India's stand that the US and other industrialised countries should help India and other developing countries with both technology and funds for emission reduction and adaptation.
On the fear in India about return of protectionism, Clinton insisted that the US had not taken a turn away from free trade. "There should be no scope for alarm," she sought to assure the PM.
Singh has, starting with the G-20 summit on financial crisis early this year, raised the threat of governments taking recourse to protectionism in the wake of the global economic crisis. He has said that erecting barriers to free trade would only delay a recovery, while causing distress to recession-racked economies of developing countries.
The interaction, which was followed by lunch, was shaped by Singh's estimate of Clinton as one of the drivers for the remarkable upswing in bilateral ties. Clinton was chairman of the India Caucus ��� a group of US lawmakers who worked to help the two countries overcome the trust deficit. She also broke away from Democrats' traditional concerns about non-proliferation to back the nuclear deal between the two countries. The PMO sees her as uniquely placed to take the process forward as a high-profile secretary of state.