E-Paper
New era of trust between India, US
During his meeting with Manmohan, Bush promised to take strategic partnership initiative to higher level, writes S. Rajagopalan.
US President George W. Bush has committed himself to taking the newly-launched US-India "strategic partnership" initiative to a higher level, paving the way for "a new era of cooperation and trust" between the two countries.
At an hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, he also promised to expand the US's defence cooperation with India. Singh conveyed his appreciation of Washington's decision to remove the Indian Space Research Organisation from the US Department of Commerce's prohibitive "entity list".
A joint statement, issued after the meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, noted that a stronger US-India partnership would "enhance global security". It underlined the shared values and traditions of the two nations and made a case for "acting in concert in international institutions".
Bush shared Indian concerns on terrorism. Foreign secretary Shyam Saran, who briefed reporters, said Bush was categorical that "terrorism of any kind, anywhere should be confronted".
Bush expressed his support for the Indo-Pakistani peace initiative and hailed the confidence-building measures announced by India. Singh said during the meeting that India was committed to carrying forward the peace process. But he stressed that assurances made by Pakistan on cross-border terrorism should be fulfilled.
"We have clearly articulated our concerns on cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Our position has been understood and appreciated," Saran said in reply to questions.
Turning to economic ties, the leaders noted it was time to work together. They favoured cooperating on policies encouraging integration of the two economies with the world economy.
The summit meeting with Singh, the first to be held by Bush in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, was recognised in diplomatic circles as "a testimony to the growing importance of US-India relations".
Other senior officials present at the meeting from the American side were secretary of state Colin Powell, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and former ambassador to India Robert Blackwill. The Indian contingent included external affairs minister Natwar Singh, national security adviser J.N. Dixit, Saran, and Indian ambassador to the US Ronen Sen.
