Washington, DC – The United States kicked off a series of agreement signings on June 2, 2016, ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fourth visit (in two years), with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance co-operation on Wildlife Conservation and Combating Wildlife Trafficking.
US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine Novelli and Indian Ambassador to the United States Arun K. Singh signed the MoU for their respective countries.
On the occasion Singh said, “Both our countries and our societies have traditionally prized wildlife. India was one of the earliest countries to adopt legislation to make wildlife conservation a national priority, much before environmentalism became a global buzzword.”
The MoU is expected to allow the US and India to strengthen capacity for wildlife conservation and management in India, including efforts to protect critical habitat, develop scientific information in support of conservation programs, build public awareness, stabilize and increase populations of threatened and endangered species, strengthen law enforcement capacity, and combat illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products.
In a statement, the US State Department added, “under the MoU, the two governments also aim to cooperate regionally and globally to combat wildlife trafficking” noting, “the United States values India’s leadership on wildlife conservation and looks forward to working jointly on this important issue.”