US Vice President Joe Biden has said that America and India have common goals in the emerging global scenario. He said, the issue is no longer what the US can do for India, but what the two countries can do together in the world. Mr. Biden said no two other countries have so much at stake or in common in the emerging global scenario.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan statement, issued after Mr. Biden met President Pranab Mukherjee, quoted the US Vice President as saying that relations between the two countries are critical for the entire region. Mr. Mukherjee said, India always gave high priority to its relations with the United States and it appreciates the strong voice of support for India-related issues in the US Senate including the bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.

A banquet was hosted in honour of Mr. Biden who arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a 4-day visit to India. Addressing the banquet, Vice President Hamid Ansari said, India and the US should jointly counter the threat of terrorism and extremism with a realistic perspective of the dangers they posed to global peace.

Mr. Biden also met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi yesterday and held comprehensive talks. The Prime Minister is likely to visit the US in the second half of September but no dates have been finalised. This was disclosed in an official clarification issued last night.

The US Vice President also met the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. Mr. Biden reached Mumbai last night on the second leg of his visit to India.

AIR correspondent reports, US Vice President Mr. Joe Biden will today deliver a speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange on US-India partnership. Later, he will participate in a round-table discussion with the captains of Indian business and industry at Taj Hotel.

During this meeting, the Indian Industry leaders are expected to pitch for renewal of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) program. Mr. Biden will visit the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai tomorrow while his wife Jill will interact with the students at Anjuman-E-Islam School.