India,
US must work to end terrorism: PM
New
Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said
that both India and the United States had the potential
to take their existing strategic partnership forward in
many ways, and one of them was for both countries to work
together in all possible forums to fight terrorism wherever
it exists, "because terrorism anywhere threatens democracy
everywhere."
Keeping
Thursday's car bomb attack in Karachi in focus, Dr. Singh,
who was delivering a speech and a toast at a luncheon hosted
in honour of visiting U.S.President George Bush, said: "We
seek a world free of poverty, ignorance, disease and the
threat of terrorism." "India seeks a neighbourhood of peace
and prosperity. Our subcontinent has been home to all the
great religions of the world. It is a powerhouse of human
creativity, where knowledge is worshipped as the gift of
our creators. With wisdom and farsightedness, we South Asians
can transform not just this region, but the whole world.
In our journey of modernization and development, social
change and empowerment, we see the United States as a partner,
a friend and a well-wisher," Dr. Singh added.
Expressing
positive sentiments about President Bush's "warm praise
for India and the Indian people and his deep personal commitment
to a closer economic and strategic partnership between our
two countries," Dr. Singh said India was today engaged in
a Himalayan adventure of pursuing development, improving
the quality of life and modernizing one of the world's oldest
civilizations, and was now looking at the United States
to partner it in this journey of progress. "In India, we
admire the creativity and enterprise of the American people,
your excellent institutions, the openness of your economy
and your ready embrace of diversity. These have attracted
the brightest Indian minds, thereby creating a bridge of
understanding that transcends distance and differences between
us. Tomorrow, you will meet young Indians who fuel the engines
of our knowledge economy. Your own country has made it possible
for the talent and abilities of our people to become more
visible to all," the Prime Minister said. He also appreciated
Bush's firm stand against protectionist forces in the United
States, adding that this farsighted approach had resulted
in a cementing of closer relations between our two countries.
He also extended an invitation to First Lady, Laura Bush
to return to India to spend time with "our students and
teachers and discover a new India in the making."
India,
US share warm moments at President's banquet
New Delhi: Leaders
of India and the United States shared some warm moments
after brokering a landmark civilian nuclear deal on Thursday.
The pact was the centrepiece of President George W. Bush's
first visit to India and marks a major breakthrough for
New Delhi, long treated as a nuclear pariah by the world,
as it allows it to access American atomic technology and
fuel to meet its soaring energy needs -- provided the U.S.
Congress gives its approval.
Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam listed out the areas identified
for cooperation between the two nations as he hosted a banquet
(Thursday) in Bush's honour. "I am very happy to note that
both our countries have identified their efforts to cooperate
in a wide variety of fields like security, space, nuclear
energy, healthcare, medical research and also global safety
and security. The success of our cooperative effort will
be driven by the amount of innovation that we can bring
in the merging knowledge of economy," Kalam said as President
Bush and his wife Laura nodded in appreciation. "The Indian
developmental model is anchored in the belief that human
progress and human freedom are inseparable. The people of
India belief that the U.S. shares their vision of a better
future and will partner them in the endeavour to become
a developed India," Kalam added. "Today our two democracies
have formed a strategic partnership to bring the benefits
to others, to expand global prosperity to free and fair
trade and to confront the challenges of our times. As great
nations, we now have the opportunity to lead and America
values the great leadership of India," Bush told the guests,
including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The President's
banquet , which began at 8 p.m. had about 100 guests, including
Cabinet ministers and the Armed Forces chiefs.
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