And Technology Hearing with two astronauts aboard the International Space station. Ahead of his visit to india this week, secretary of state john kerry talked about u. S. India relations at the center for American Progress where he urged india to expand trade and do more combat Climate Change. He also spoke briefly about events in the middle east. This is 45 minutes. We are really honored and thrilled to have the 68th secretary of state john kerry join us today to discuss americas relationship with india. Throughout his career, secretary kerry has reinforced the Strategic Partnership between the United States and india. He supported the crucial civilian Nuclear Agreement in 2008 and maintained u. S. Support for indias full, permanent membership in an expanded u. N. Security council. With a new government in india, the country faces challenges and real opportunities. Prime minister modi came to power with a promise and a mandate to shake up indias economy and redefine the countrys role on the world stage. Through caps, we hope to work with Key Stakeholders to build an Even Stronger relationship and seize on the opportunity for positive change. We are so pleased to have secretary kerry at our inaugural event. Secretary kerry has a long and distinguished career in serving his country on the battlefield, in the senate, and now as the face of american diplomacy around the world. For three decades he represented massachusetts in the u. S. Senate. In fact, i grew up in bedford, massachusetts, and he was my senator and i am proud to say my mom always voted for him. His service in the u. S. I left at 18, but i would have voted for him. His service in the u. S. Navy during vietnam made him a leading voice. The proud son of a Foreign Service officer, his understanding of todays Foreign Policy challenges uniquely qualifies him to be americas top diplomat. Since he was sworn into office, secretary kerry has been one of the most active, energetic, and ambitious secretaries in u. S. History. He has dived head first into some of the worlds most difficult problems. I know as the world faces greater and greater instability with International Crises erupting seemingly daily, it is easy to turn in words. That is why it is so crucial secretary kerry is in this role because throughout his career he has stood for that strand of progressivism that is international in outlook and engaged in the world. That brand of progressivism that believes an engaged america strengthens our own security as we work for peace and stability around the world, however hard that is. I know the world is a difficult place and getting more dangerous. But secretary kerry also knows that without active, engaged american leadership, it will get far, far worse. We are lucky to have him in this role. I believe he is truly the man for this moment. Secretary kerry, thank you for being here today, for all the support you have had of cap over the years, and it is now my great honor and privilege to introduce secretary of state john kerry. [ applause ] thank you very, very much. Thank you for confirming to me your mothers fealty. Im deeply appreciative for her support through the years and im sorry we lost you when you were 18, but im glad you wound up here as is everybody else. Were delighted that youre here. Its a privilege for me to be back at the center for American Progress, and i am very, very apologetic for the delay. I know i have kept you all from your appointed rounds and i apologize for that. Its good to get the telephone unglued for a few minutes here. Obviously we are still working hard trying to deal with the issue of the crisis in the middle east. I spoke to it a little earlier today, so im not going to repeat what i said except to say to all of you that we want to be able to find a way to get to a table to discuss the underlying issues which are real and impactful on everybody and on the region, and we hope to be able to find the magic formula by which the violence could cease for a long enough period of time to try to find that sustainable ceasefire which could allow you to move on from there. The region has known violence for far too long. Too many innocent people caught in the cross fire. To many lives ruptured, and so it is imperative for all of us in positions of responsibility to do everything we can to try to find a diplomatic way, a peaceful way forward if possible. It is a privilege for me to be back here at the center for American Progress. Ambassador, thank you for being here representing the embassy, the dcm here. All of our exambassadors and exassistant secretaries of defense and otherwise, greatly appreciative for their support and efforts to advance the very crucial relationship between the United States and india, and you know at a time when so many people are back in history when they were looking for a lot of simple slogans and silver bullets to cure an immediate problem, which was pretty basic, that the Democratic Party was out of the white house and sidelined in the minority in both the house and the senate, thats when a guy named john podesta stood up and was determined to get past the day to day ups and downs of the Washington Echo Chamber and helped to shape a progressive policy agenda for governing. John knew then what he practices now in the white house for president obama, good policy is good politics. So excuse me. Let me get rid of my flight here. Good policy really does make good politics. I always found that and i have always tried to practice that. Under Neera Tandens leadership for the last couple years, cap has continued to prove that good ideas are still the most important currency in our political debate, and that is a principle that has also guided caps work on Foreign Policy, especially in convening the first intensive Climate Change dialogue between the United States and india. India 2020 builds on that success by showing how the United States and india together can tackle global challenges from security in the asiapacific to providing clean energy to delivering more inclusive growth, and vikram and rich are going to help lead us together on that bringing some of the best minds together in terms of policy and politics, and i thank you very, very much for your contribution, rich and vikram. Thank you for what youre undertaking. It is really a dialogue about what is in most peoples currency but not always yet fully blossomed, one of the most important relationships internationally. Now, i just got back as i think you all know from a pretty intensive trip to egypt, israel, and the west bank and to europe working to try to find an end to the violence that has threatened our ally, israel, and which has also cost hundreds of innocent lives in gaza and elsewhere. Were the fact is that we were able to produce at least the beginnings of a ceasefire process, a 12hour ceasefire, then confusion over four hours and 12 hours, but the bottom line is the concept of that is still appreciated by all and the key now is to find the road, not the question of what. Now, there are some in america who question americas efforts, actually not just in america. There are some people who ask this elsewhere, but particularly here they question our efforts to bring peace to various conflicts around the world. I think they ought to ask, whats the alternative . Make no mistake, when the people of israel are rushing to bomb shelters, when innocent israeli and palestinian teenagers are abducted and murdered, when hundreds of innocent civilians have lost their lives, i will and we will make no apologies for our engagement. Ungoverned spaces threaten us all. Instability threatens us all. In upholding the rule of law and humanitarian standards are not only National Security imperatives, they are the right thing to do. This is who we are, and this is what we do. And, frankly, i think it is what we do with greater gusto, with greater grounding, if you will, in International Rule of law and structure than almost, almost any other country. But i want to be very clear about something, and thats why im here today. Even as we focus on crises and flash points that dominate the daily headlines, even as this happens and they demand our leadership, we will always act with longterm Strategic Imperatives foremost in our minds and thats why were here today. You can go to any capital in the world, and you can find different nuanced and selfassured perspectives about american Foreign Policy. But if you were lucky enough to have the top 100 Foreign Policy thinkers sit in a room together and you ask them to name the most important relationships for which the United States with that relationship will most affect the direction of the 21st century, i can guarantee you this, every single one of them would rank the u. S. india relationship right up there in the top tier. So i want to emphasize, the key relationship for the United States, one of the key relationships for the United States in that context is the deepening relationship with india. And particularly trying to deepen our ties with india in terms of our Strategic Imperatives, both of us. It doesnt matter just to us or to india. It actually matters to the world, and thats why in my first months as secretary of state i went to india, and its no coincidence that, you know, at the time in Prime Minister modis first 100 days of his government, im now returning to delhi for two days of Strategic Dialogue and discussion, and it was no accident that in the intervening time we have had many discussions and meetings and the Prime Minister former Prime Minister singh came here to the white house during that period of time. Then, of course, they had an election and as Everybody Knows for a certain number of months during an election, things tend to be put on hold. Now is the time to renew that dialogue with a new government, with a new set of opportunities, new possibilities. This is a potentially transformative moment in our partnership with india. Were determined to deliver on the strategic and historic opportunities we can create together. In a globalized world, we recognize that, yes, india is going to have many different partners. Thats the nature of the world were in today. But we believe there are unique opportunities for just the United States and india. And that the dynamism and the entrepreneurial spirit of mumbai and bangalore, of Silicon Valley and of boston, that is precisely what is required in order to solve some of the worlds greatest challenges. President obama is absolutely right to call this a defining partnership for the 21st century. Indias new government has won a historic mandate to deliver change and reform, and together we have a singular opportunity to help india to be able to meet that challenge, to boost twoway trade, to drive south asias connectivity. To develop cleaner energy. To deepen our Security Partnership in the asiapacific and beyond. The United States and india can and should be indispensable partners for the 21st century and that is, i assure, you the way we approach the modi government. This week secretary pritzker and i will be emphasizing those opportunities as we meet leaders of indias new government. We face, as we all know and neera talked about it and it is true, this is a particularly challenging moment. Forces that were pent up for years in the cold war, tampened down by dictatorship and absence of freedom to speak have suddenly been released everywhere, and everywhere everybody is in touch with everybody all the time. It changes the face of politics profoundly everywhere. People have more information, more ability to organize, more ability to talk to each other. So we do face a host of critical challenges together, and we face a world in which more young people, more rapidly are demanding more from their governments with too much too many places where theres too little response. And that is a challenge for all governance. None more so than what we do to link our economies, india and the United States in order to further our shared prosperity agenda. What we do to strengthen Global Security and a rulesbased international system, how we turn the challenges of Climate Change into an opportunity for greater cooperation and Economic Growth these are the big challenges, these are opportunities for us. Our countries have had a decades long relationship, and i can personally remember the lingering sense of distrust and suspicion when i went to india at the end of the cold war. I travelled with executives from Companies Like raytheon and nextel. I remember talking to then finance minister singh about the reforms that were needed and the opening up of the economy and the ability to be able to attract capital and have rules that made sense to everybody, that we all understood. I remember that back then, and i felt then the possibility of the enormous potential of a closer, stronger partnership. And now its not hard to see how in this moment we can actually deliver on that partnerships full promise. The new plan, together with all, development for all, thats a concept, a vision that we want to support. We believe its a great vision. And our private sector is eager to be a catalyst in Indias Economic revitalization. American Companies Lead in exactly the key sectors where india wants to grow. In highend manufacturing, in infrastructure, in health care, information technology. Vital for leapfrogging stages of development so you can provide more faster to more people. India wants to build a more competitive workforce and already 100,000 indians study each year in americas universities. But americas Community Colleges actually set a remarkable standard for 21st century skills training. We should be expanding our educational ties, increasing opportunities for young people in both of our nations. I know Prime Minister modi drew from that energy of indias youth during his campaign. He repeatedly pointed out that while india is one of the worlds oldest civilizations, it has the worlds youngest population. Prime minister modi has said young people have a natural instinct to rise like a flame and he has spoken about indias duty to nurture that instinct, and we believe, frankly, thats a duty for both of our nations, and that means strengthening the exchange and Technical Education and vocational programs for high Skilled Trades and especially in areas where we can build on the entrepreneurial innovative spirit of both of our nations. And we all know about the extraordinary work ethic that india have and the capacity to seize this opportunity. One of the marked contrasts of this moment is this juxtaposition to parts of the world where young people demanded a participation in this world they see around them and rose up against leadership that had stultified over the course of years, decades even. Tunisia, egypt, syria. They all began without one flake of religious extremism involved in the revolutions that brought change. It was all about young people gathering and forcing the notion that they wanted something more to life, they wanted opportunity, education, respect, dignity, jobs, a future. So this possibility i have just defined between india and the United States which fits very neatly into Prime Minister modis vision that he expressed in a campaign which was ratified overwhelmingly by the people of his country is exactly the vision we need to embrace now and thats why this opportunity is actually so ripe. This area of cooperation is, you know, particularly exciting i think and im particularly confident about these opportunities because only countries that reward creativity the way the United States and india do could have possibly launched hollywood and bollywood. Only countries that celebrate the entrepreneur the way we did could have launched Silicon Valley and bangalore. Innovation and entrepreneurship are in both of our dna, and they not only make us natural partners, they give us natural advantages in a world that demands adaptability and resilience. The United States and india cannot afford to just sort of sit back and rest on these currently existing advantages. We have to build on them, and we have to build on them by investing more in one another. Now, unlike some other nations, the United States cannot direct a private corporation to go invest in a particular country. President obama cant order businesses to build factories in calcutta. It just doesnt happen. But we know this from several hundred years of experience. If indias government delivers on its plans to support grea