The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : US varsities keen on programmes with India

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US varsities keen on programmes with India

Special Correspondent

Elizabeth Fitzsimmons

Hyderabad: US universities are keen on entering India to set up campuses or for exchange programmes with Indian universities, says Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, spokesperson, US Embassy, New Delhi.

At the “Meet the Press” organised by the Press Club, Hyderabad, here on Tuesday, she said GeorgiaTech University was that had come out openly, but many more institutions were exploring opportunities in India. Several teams had been visiting India through the US Embassy and education was one of the areas where India and the USA would be keen to collaborate.

Ms. Elizabeth said relationship between India and US was on an amazing upward trajectory with bilateral cooperation increasing in areas like health, security, space among others.Recently, an FBI team was here to share the best practices apart from training people here. Another team consisting of railway officials was here to discuss and exchange safety measures.

Commenting on the proposed visit of US President Barak Obama to India in November this year, she said the specifics of the programme were yet to be determined and she couldn't say whether Hyderabad was part of the itinerary.

On H1 visa fee and the subsequent uproar, she said fees were raised due to significant workload on the consular section overseas and also to provide better services. She dismissed that India was the target and said the raise was not intended against any country but was for the companies. Anyway, there would be more clarity during the President's visit, she said.

Ms. Elizabeth disputed charges that the US was not doing enough to contain Pakistan for supporting terrorism in India and said US views were aired at various levels quite strongly on this issue. On the safety concerns of Indian students in the US, she said there were no specific security arrangements for them. She said that most of them were random victims of crime, but at the same time, all students were briefed about the security measures at various forums.

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