The Gavel: Speaker Pelosi Meets With Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in the background

November 23rd, 2009 by Karina

This evening, Speaker Pelosi held a brief press availability followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Republic of India. Speaker Pelosi extended an invitation to the Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of Congress during a future visit to the United States.

The Indian leader's and the Speaker's  remarks:

Speaker Pelosi: It is a great honor indeed to welcome the Prime Minister of the Republic of India to the United States Capitol. It is a sign of our friendship that the red carpet is being rolled out from the White House to the Capitol and in between to welcome this truly great man, perhaps one of the most respected leaders in the world.

I had the privilege to lead a delegation to India in March, where we had the privilege of meeting with the Prime Minister and had conversations about climate change and the economy and about fighting terrorism and other issues of concern.
It gave me the opportunity to once again express the admiration that Americans have for India, our close relationship with Reverend Martin Luther King, taking his lead from Mahatma Gandhi in learning about nonviolence and how it produced results. The Prime Minister mentioned that in his speech and that relationship in his speech to the Council [on Foreign Relations] just earlier. Also I want to thank India for the hospitality it extends to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

India is recognized as a country that is values based. And as the Prime Minister has told us again on this trip, it is time for us to have a new dynamic while we talk about economies that recognize that alleviation of poverty is central to all of our success.
I look forward to a conversation with the Prime Minister about how the U.S./India relationship can be strengthened, intensified and be for the good of the world. I look forward to hearing his views on Afghanistan, Iran and fighting terrorism.

Almost one year to the day, November 26, 2008, when India suffered the terrible loss in Mumbai, we are gathered here to learn from that experience to see how we can work more closely together for the good of all the people of the world, in our country, and in India as well.

It is now my privilege to extend an invitation to the Prime Minister to say a few words.

Prime Minister Singh: Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege and a great honor for me to be invited to meet you in your august office.

I had the privilege of welcoming you to our country earlier in the year, and I was tremendously impressed by your ability to comprehend the difficult issues which confront a country of India’s size, India’s complexity, India’s diversity, and your commitment to Gandhian values.

You are a living embodiment of the values and the ideals which inspire Mahatma Gandhi. And for me therefore, it is a unique opportunity to be invited to meet with you in your office.
I know the important role that the Speaker of the House of Representatives plays in the body politic of this great country that the United States is. And for me, it is a real honor to be received by the Speaker in her august office.

I am here at the invitation of the President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama, to strengthen in every possible way the multi-faceted relationship that we have developed over the years with the United States.
We are strategic partners. It is my hope and ambition to give new meaning, new trust, to this strategic partnership during this visit and in this role of Speaker it is of great importance, so I am very happy to have the Madam’s blessings and support in the task that I am engaged in. I thank Madam Pelosi for the honor that she has done to me, inviting me to visit her in her august office in this House of Representatives.

Speaker Pelosi: If I may, Mr. Prime Minister, may I add that this is Thanksgiving week in America, so Congress is out of session. We hope that you will come back soon again, and I extend an invitation for you to address a Joint Session of the Congress of the United States when you come back — about our strategic partnership and how we go into the future.

Prime Minister Singh: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Rightardia comment: India could become a big factor in the US economic recovery because it plans to purchase more than $4 billion in US goods and services based upon a visit by the Secretary of the State. India is also a counterpoint to China and Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan. 


Rightardia believes India will become an increasingly important ally in the future.

source: http://www.speaker.gov/blog/

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Hillary Clinton has become a top notch diplomat

16:3624/07/2009

NEW DELHI. (RIA Novosti correspondent Yevgeny Bezeka) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to the ASEAN Regional Forum on security in Phuket, Thailand, from India, where she proved herself as a brilliant diplomat.

It was her first visit to India as Washington's top diplomat.

She has assured the Indian authorities that the new U.S. administration will carry on cooperation with India in the spirit of George W. Bush, disregarding differences.

Clinton wisely spotlighted the priority objectives of the Indian government outlined in the policy speech by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Her first symbolic move in India was the decision to stay at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai, which Pakistani terrorists attacked in November 2008, killing many people and setting fire to the luxury hotel. However, it reopened after repairs in December and is now seen as the symbol of the Indian business's refusal to bow to terrorists.

Next Clinton had a meeting with Indian business leaders organized by local billionaire, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, one of the largest conglomerate companies in India, and the owner of the Taj Mahal hotel. That was another wise decision, because India is proud of its rapid economic growth and views U.S. business as a major partner.

Hillary Clinton and Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan participated in an interactive session called "Education - Serving to Change Our World" held at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, and the press virtually held on to her every word.

"I am here to see how U.S. and India can work for the common cause of education, which is the great equalizer and gateway to opportunities," Clinton said.

She also gave an interview to the Times Now television channel.

Upon arriving in New Delhi, the state secretary went to Gurgaon, a satellite town adjoining Delhi, where she addressed a conference on climate change, which India views as a major threat.

And lastly, Clinton visited the leading Indian Agricultural Research Institute, because agriculture is another key sphere for the Indian authorities. Some 60% of Indians work in agriculture, which accounts for as much as 30% of the country's GDP.

All other events looked insignificant against that background, and differences between the two countries appeared to be minor.

The upshot of the visit was the signing of agreements on technical cooperation (the launch of satellites with U.S.-made components by Indian carrier rockets), on cooperation in education, and on end user monitoring.

The end user verification agreement should enable the U.S. to monitor the end use of the arms and sensitive technologies sold to India and ensure that they are not diverted to other countries. It has removed the last obstacles to the sale of U.S. military technology to India.

The only hitch was the clause on the admission of U.S. inspectors to Indian military facilities. According to press reports, Washington has allowed India to dismantle the components in question for inspection at "neutral" sites.

While smiling at everyone and accepting compliments, Clinton stressed Washington's readiness to strengthen rapprochement with India, and smartly avoided difficult questions.

One of such difficulties was the statement on non-proliferation made at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, in early July, in which the G8 countries expressed their resolve not to supply uranium enrichment technology to non-signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The list of non-signatories includes Pakistan, North Korea, and India. Although the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) previously made an exception for it, India may now face new problems.

Many observers said the G8 statement on non-proliferation was a result of U.S. efforts to "tighten the screws" in this sphere despite the nuclear deal which India signed with the Bush administration last year.

India has refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it considers to be discriminating. If the recent U.S. efforts prove successful, India will have problems with developing its nuclear program.

Former Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was appointed finance minister last May, has assured the Indian parliament that they need not fear the initiatives of the new U.S. administration. However, the Indian authorities most likely expressed deep concern behind closed doors.

The issue was also discussed at a news conference after the signing of bilateral agreements. Clinton diplomatically assured the media that the United States was not against the transfer of uranium enrichment technologies to India.

"If it is done within the appropriate channels and carefully safeguarded, as it is in the case of India, that is appropriate," the secretary of state said.

This is the best way she could put it, no matter what she really thinks on the issue, especially after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India had approved sites where American companies will build two nuclear power plants.

It is part of a civilian nuclear deal signed by the US and India last year.

So, Clinton's first visit to India as secretary of state was a brilliant success even though it has not settled ideological differences, which will yet affect bilateral relations. Apart from India's refusal to sign the NPT, these differences also include greenhouse gas emission, liberalization of international trade, the fight against terrorism, and the legal status of American companies that will build nuclear power plants.

But these differences will not stop U.S.-Indian movement toward each other, which began nearly a decade ago, largely thanks to Hillary Clinton's talent for telling people what they want to hear.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20090724/155609513.html

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Bill Gates receives the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development

NEW DELHI: Calling Microsoft founder Bill Gates a "unique business leader" and an "inspiration", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday appealed to corporate leaders to help banish poverty, improve and promote education.

'The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation' is an inspiration to business leaders around the world. Many business leaders in India too have been inspired by its example and their work and come forward to join the battle against poverty, ignorance and disease," Manmohan Singh said. The event conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on the Gates foundation.

Singh said:

But I very much hope that many more Indians who can -- more of our business leaders and our wealthy -- will learn to share their wealth with the people of their country, by investing in their education, their health, and the care of the elderly and the disabled.

Going through the list of the 23 recipients of this prize, I realised that Bill Gates is the first business leader to receive this award. We have so far honoured people in public life, political leaders, scientists and social activists. It is appropriate, I think, that Mr Gates is the first business leader to receive this prestigious award. In this, as in so much else, he breaks new ground.

Bill Gates received the award from President Pratibha Patil on behalf of the foundation.Patil stated: 

The work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is based on the principle that every human life has equal worth -- that the life of a poor child in a developing country is as precious as the life of a middle-class child in a developed country. 

The foundation, through its India initiative Avahan, has worked for targeted interventions in six states affected most by AIDS.

Under our third National Aids Control Programme, the National Aids Control Organisation has worked closely with the foundation while developing key strategic interventions and formulating programme guidelines. It is a shining example of partnership between government and civil society in a critically important sector. I commend their work.

The ancient Greeks said that all dreams pass through the gates of horn and ivory, but the gates of Bill and Melinda make the dreams of millions real. I compliment Bill and Melinda Gates.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

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