Thursday, April 27 2006 15:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Emphasising the importance of India's growing financial sector, US has said it would appoint a full-time Treasury representative there soon.

Disclosing this, Under Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Treasury Timothy Adams said a decision is yet to be taken on where this post will be maintained, in Mumbai or in New Delhi.

"India has become so important to us, not as an economy but as a financial center, that we'll soon be putting a full-time Treasury representative there", Adams said.

He said the country is still determining the optimal solution.

"In fact, our ambassador, David Mulford, is actually here in Washington today, and we were just meeting with him this morning to determine whether Mumbai or Delhi is the best place. We haven't reached that conclusion", the Treasury official said.

The Treasury Department has very few full-time representatives in the world.

Adams will be in India on an official visit attending the Asian Development Bank meetings in Hyderabad, prior to which he will be in Mumbai and Kolkata talking with officials on a number of key economic and financial issues.

"It's important that our economic ties are strengthened too. Over the past 15 years, India has been the second-fastest growing economy in the world, and it is now the 12th largest economy in the world and a growing important economy for the US for export U.S. exporters of goods and services. I think our exports to India jumped by 30 percent last year," Adams remarked at the Washington Foreign Press Centre.