New Delhi. A delegation led by American Senator Christopher Bond called on the Minister of State for Coal and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal here today.

Issues relating to energy security were discussed in the meeting. It was pointed out during the discussions that the demand for coal in India is growing at a faster pace due to acceleration in the rate of addition to power generation and, therefore, the Ministry of Coal and Coal India Ltd. were looking for acquisitions of coal assets abroad to supplement coal availability. It was further mentioned that Coal India Ltd. had issued a global Expression of Interest for strategic partnerships through formation of joint ventures for opening Greenfield projects and equity infusion with relatively long-term off-take agreements.

Both the Minister and the Senator expressed the need for strengthening cooperation in the areas of clean coal technologies as well as underground coal gasification. It was also mentioned that a global study bringing out the benefits of coal in various countries of the world has been initiated by American coal companies and that the Indian Coal companies would be supporting this study. The Minister concluded by stating that the Indian side fully supports these initiatives.