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Skriven 2006-03-02 23:33:06 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0603029) for Thu, 2006 Mar 2
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President, Prime Minister Singh Discuss Growing Strategic Partnership
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 2, 2006

President, Prime Minister Singh Discuss Growing Strategic Partnership
Mughal Garden
Hyderabad House
New Delhi, India


˙˙˙˙˙Fact Sheet: United States and India: Strategic Partnership
˙˙˙˙˙President's Visit to India and Pakistan

12:26 P.M. (Local)

PRIME MINISTER SINGH: Shall I start?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Please.

PRIME MINISTER SINGH: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the press:
President Bush and I have completed very cordial and productive discussions
this morning. We reviewed the status of our cooperation, including the
agenda that was set on July 18, 2005. The joint statement that will be
shared with all of you today contains a number of announcements and
initiatives that underline the significant progress in our relationship.

Many of the areas that our cooperation now covers are essential to India's
national development. They include energy, agriculture, science and
technology, trade and investment, high technology, health and a clean
environment. This is a highly ambitious agenda, one that is befitting our
growing strategic partnership. When implemented they will make a real
difference to the lives of our people.

The President and I had an opportunity to review the global situation in
our talks. As you're all aware, India and the United States are working
together increasingly on global issues. This is not just good for our two
countries, but also benefits the international community, as we can
complement each others' capabilities and share responsibilities. President
Bush is admired for his strong position on terrorism. And I was
particularly pleased that we agreed on the need to root out terrorism, of
which India has been a major victim.

I'm particularly pleased that we have reached an understanding on the
implementation of our agreement on civil nuclear cooperation of July 18,
2005. I have conveyed to the President that India has finalized the
identification of civilian facilities to which we had committed. I was also
happy to hear from the President that he now intended to approach the U.S.
Congress to amend U.S. laws and the Nuclear Supplier Group to adjust its
guideline. We will discuss with the International Atomic Energy Agency in
regard to fashioning an appropriate India-specific safeguards agreement.
You will appreciate I cannot say more now, while our parliament is in
session.

Before concluding, I would like to express my warm appreciation for the
personal interest shown and the leadership role that President Bush has
played in the transformation of our ties. I have met the President a number
of times, and on each occasion, I have admired his vision, his resolve, and
his commitment to strengthening our bilateral relations. Our discussion
today make me confident that there are no limits to the Indo-U.S.
partnerships.

May I invite you, Mr. President, now to make your remarks.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much. It's a joy to be
here. Laura and I are really thankful for your hospitality, and I
appreciate the lengthy and constructive dialogue we just had on a wide
range of issues. I particularly thank the CEOs from both the United States
and India who have worked hard to help develop a way forward to make sure
our relationship is constructive and long-lasting.

India and America have built a strategic partnership based upon common
values. Our two democracies respect religious pluralism and the rule of
law. We seek to foster economic development through trade and advancing the
entrepreneurial spirit in both countries.

We're working as partners to make the world safer. India and America both
suffered from terrorist attacks on our home soil. Terrorists attacked New
Delhi. We're sharing information to protect each other. We have a common
desire to enhance the security of our peoples. We're cooperating on the
military front. We worked as partners in responding to the tsunami. I was
struck, and so were the American people, that the Indian Air Force
delivered Hurricane Katrina aid to an air force base in Little Rock,
Arkansas. And for that, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you.

We are committed to promoting democracy worldwide. We are leaders in the
United Nations Democracy Fund, which provides grants to help young
democracies develop civil institutions in a free society. I particularly
want to thank the Indian people and the Indian government for supporting
the new democracy in the neighborhood, and that being the democracy in
Afghanistan, where you've pledged $565 million in reconstruction aid, plus
$50 million for the new national assembly building.

On Burma, we agree on the deplorable state of human rights in Burma, and
all nations to seek the release of Aung San Su Kyi. In Nepal, we agreed
that the Maoists should abandon violence, and that the King should reach
out to the political parties to restore democratic institutions. In other
words, our discussions are more than just friendly handshakes. We discuss
important international relations. We're partners in peace. And that's in
the interests of our own people, as well as the interests of people around
the world.

On trade and investment, ties are growing. We're partners in expanding
global trade. The United States is India's largest trading partner, and
India is one of the United States' fastest growing export markets. That's
one of the reasons we met with the CEOs today, is to how to further trade
and how to further commerce and how to further opportunities.

And, oh, by the way, Mr. Prime Minister, the United States is looking
forward to eating Indian mangos. Part of liberalizing trade is to open up
markets. And as a result of your leadership, and our hard work, we are
opening up markets. Our agricultural knowledge initiative is an important
initiative for both countries, where we'll fund joint agricultural research
projects.

Prime Minister Singh and I established a trade policy forum to address
bilateral trade issues. One of the areas we discussed today is how we can
work together to make sure that the Doha negotiations end on a positive
note. Trade is important. Trade is important for our peoples. Trade is
important to help nations develop ways forward, help nations overcome
poverty. And I appreciate your understanding of that, Mr. Prime Minister.
I'm looking forward to working with you.

As the Prime Minister mentioned, we concluded an historic agreement today
on nuclear power. It's not an easy job for the Prime Minister to achieve
this agreement, I understand. It's not easy for the American President to
achieve this agreement. But it's a necessary agreement. It's one that will
help both our peoples.

Again, I applaud you for your courage and your leadership. I'm looking
forward to working with our United States Congress to change decades of law
that will enable us to move forward in this important initiative.

Also we talked about the advanced energy initiative that I'm proposing in
my own country. Listen, the whole purpose of the advanced energy initiative
is to end our dependence on oil, and as we develop technologies that will
enable us to do so, we look forward to working with India so we can achieve
the same objectives. Dependency upon fossil fuels causes, particularly
during times of shortage, causes prices to rise in both our countries. And
it's in our interests that we share technologies to move away from the era
of fossil fuels.

India and Pakistan have an historic opportunity to work toward lasting
peace. Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf have shown themselves
to be leaders of courage and vision. And I encourage them to continue
making progress on all issues, including Kashmir.

India and America are partners in addressing other global issues like
HIV/AIDS and pandemic flu. In other words, this partnership of ours is
substantive and it's important and it's strategic. And I thank the Prime
Minister for working with me to advance this relationship in such a way
that we can define our previous meetings and today's meeting as historic in
nature. I'm confident that the relationship between India and the United
States is good for the United States of America. I hope it's good for the
people of India, and I know it's going to be good for laying the
foundations of peace in this world of ours.

So, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for having me.

PRIME MINISTER SINGH: It's a great honor, Mr. President, to have you.

Q Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you, Mr. President. Sir, since you
have said that India-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement is on, what we
would like to know from you that how are you going to ensure India's
concerns and Indian scientific community's concerns regarding non-stop
supply of fuel, and also protecting India's three-phased nuclear research
program.

And excuse me, sir. Mr. President, I have a question for you, too, sir.
Sir, you know, everybody is saying that India and the United States are
natural allies. And you have also said many times that our strategic
partnership is based on common values, shared values. Sir, then why the
largest democracy of the world is reluctant or not forthcoming to support
-- the oldest democracy of the world is not supporting the largest
democracy of the world to have a permanent membership of the United Nations
Security Council? This is an issue India would like to hear from you more,
sir. Thank you. Thank you, Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER SINGH: You have asked me about the nuclear agreement. As I
mentioned, we have reached a mutually satisfactory understanding with
regard to carrying forward the process that was outlined in the July 18
statement which I and President Bush signed.

An important step forward is the preparation of a separation plan, a
separation plan which separates the civilian nuclear program from the
military program. That phase has been successfully completed. Now it is for
the United States to go to the Congress for necessary amendments in U.S.
laws. Also, the U.S. will approach the members of the Nuclear Supplier
Groups, and thereafter we'll also have to go to the International Atomic
Energy Agency for India-specific safeguards.

So we have made very satisfactory progress. And I thank the President for
his initiative. But for his leadership this day would probably have not
come so soon.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you for your question on the U.N. Security Council.
I'm not surprised you asked it. As a matter of fact, I gave an interview to
a person from the India media in Washington, D.C., prior to my trip, and
that was one of the questions asked.

My answer hasn't changed, by the way, which is this. One, we support United
Nations Security Council reform, and we're interested in different ways to
reform the United Nations Security Council. My concern all along, however,
is that if we only stick to the United Nations Security Council reform, we
miss an opportunity to reform the United Nations overall. And so our
position is, let's make sure reform overall moves forward, as we think
about the best way to reform the Security Council.

The United Nations is a very important international body. It's one that
does, however, require better accountability and -- accountability on how
we spend money and accountability on getting results. One such area, for
example, is the Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission needs
to be reformed in a way that actually is able to achieve significant
results on behalf of the world.

And so we're open-minded and we're listening. But what we don't want to do
is have a Security Council reform measure that causes the other reforms not
to go forward.

Suzanne. You probably need a microphone, unless you want to belt it out.

Q I'll try. Thank you, Mr. President. There are reports of multiple
bombings out of Karachi, Pakistan, outside of the U.S. consulate, as well
as the Marriott Hotel. What can you tell us about this? Will this impact
your trip, your visit to that country? And how does this speak to Pakistan,
or even Musharraf's ability to contain terrorists?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First of all, I've been briefed on the bombings. We have
lost at least one U.S. citizen in a bombing, a foreign service officer, and
I send our country's deepest condolences to that person's loved one and
family. We also send the condolences to the people from Pakistan who lost
their lives.

Terrorists and killers are not going to prevent me from going to Pakistan.
My trip to Pakistan is an important trip. It's important to talk with
President Musharraf about continuing our fight against terrorists. After
all, he has had a direct stake in this fight -- four times the terrorists
have tried to kill him.

The Prime Minister and I talked about the need to continue working together
to fight the scourge of terrorism. People -- these terrorists will kill
innocent life just like that. They have no conscience. You can't negotiate
with them, you can't reason with them. They must be brought to justice. The
bombing that took place prior to my trip is an indication that there are --
that the war on terror goes on, and that free nations must come together to
fight terrorism.

The way to defeat terrorism in the short run is to share intelligence and
to take action. The way to defeat terrorism in the long run is to defeat
the ideology of hate with an ideology of hope. And that's democracy. The
great thing about being here in India is it's a perfect opportunity to
remind the world that it is possible for people of different religions to
live peacefully together. That's precisely what this grand democracy has
shown the world.

And my resolve has never been stronger about protecting our own people by
working with other nations, to answer the call to history and the call to
history now is to stand strong in the face of these terrorist attacks. And
we will.

Q President Bush, two questions for you. First --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Only two? That's good.

Q First, on the nuclear deal, how do you plan to sell the agreement to a
very powerful nonproliferation lobby in Washington which has opposed the
deal? And second, on the issue of terrorism, in the context of today's bomb
blasts in Karachi, how do you propose to work with India on terrorism,
considering India considers that the epicenter of terrorism is in Pakistan?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, one way we work together on terrorism is to make sure
intelligence services share information. The way you defeat terrorists is
you -- in the short-term -- is you anticipate and react to their motives
and their actions through good intelligence.

We're involved in a different kind of war. This is a war where people hide
and plot and plan and then all of a sudden emerge and kill. And so it
requires a different response. And part of the response is to commit our
intelligence services to sharing information. We spent some time talking
about that issue today.

As well, I will send -- bring the same message to President Musharraf that
we will continue to work with the President to share information to bring
terrorists to justice. Terrorism is not prevalent only in this part of the
world. It's prevalent in the Middle East, as well. In the long run,
terrorism will be defeated by giving people hope and opportunity, as
opposed to systems of government which breed resentment and provide -- and
as a result of that resentment, provide opportunity for these killers to
recruit.

In terms of convincing the Congress, the first thing I will say to our
Congress is that our relationship is changing to the better. You know,
sometimes it's hard to get rid of history, and short-term history shows
that the United States and India were divided. We didn't have much of a
relationship. And as a result, there are laws on the books that reflect
that. Now the relationship is changing dramatically. People in the United
States have got to understand that trade with India is in our interests,
that diplomatic relations with India is in our interests, that cultural
exchanges with India are in our interest.

One of the things that helps make that case, of course, is the -- there's a
lot of Indian Americans making important contributions to our country. And
we welcome those contributions. I think there needs to be more student
exchanges between our countries. I think we ought to expand H1B visas for
Indian scientists and engineers and physicists and people in our country.

In other words, what I'm trying to explain to you is that it's a changing
relationship, and part of that change is going to be how to deal with the
nuclear issue. Now, proliferation is certainly a concern and a part of our
discussions, and we've got a good faith gesture by the Indian government
that I'll be able to take to the Congress. But the other thing that our
Congress has got to understand, that it's in our economic interests that
India have a civilian nuclear power industry to help take the pressure off
of the global demand for energy.

Obviously, nuclear power is a renewable source of energy, and the less
demand there is for non-renewable sources of energy, like fossil fuels, the
better off it is for the American people. Increasing demand for oil from
America, from India and China, relative to a supply that's not keeping up
with demand, causes our fuel prices to go up. And so, to the extent that we
can reduce demand for fossil fuels, it will help the American consumer.

And so there are several ways for me to make the case, which I'm kind of
laying out for you now, so that -- but this is what I'll be telling our
Congress.

Axelrod.

Q Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, following up on this just a touch,
what kind of message, sir, does it send to the world that India, which has
been testing as late as 1998, nuclear testing, and is not -- has not signed
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty -- is this a reward for bad behavior,
as some critics suggest? And what kind of message does it send to other
countries that are in the process of developing nuclear technology? Why
should they sign the NPT if India is getting a deal without doing so, sir?

PRESIDENT BUSH: What this agreement says is things change, times change,
that leadership can make a difference, and telling the world -- sending the
world a different message from that which is -- what used to exist in
people's minds.

I -- listen, I've always said this was going to be a difficult deal for the
Prime Minister to sell to his parliament, but he showed great courage and
leadership. And it's difficult for the American President to sell to our
Congress, because some people just don't want to change and change with the
times. I understand that. But this agreement is in our interests, and
therefore, Jim, I'm confident we can sell this to our Congress as in the
interest of the United States, and at the same time make it clear that
there's a way forward for other nations to participate in a -- in civilian
nuclear power in such a way as to address nonproliferation concerns.

India has charted a way forward. You heard the Prime Minister talk about
going to the IAEA. That group exists to help safeguard -- safeguard the
world from proliferation.

Listen, I proposed reprocessing agreements -- that stands in stark contrast
to current nuclear theology that we shouldn't reprocess for proliferation
concerns. I don't see how you can advocate nuclear power, in order to take
the pressure off of our own economy, for example, without advocating
technological development of reprocessing, because reprocessing will not
only -- reprocessing is going to help with the environmental concerns with
nuclear power. It will make there -- to put it bluntly, there will be less
material to dispose.

And so I'm trying to think differently, not to stay stuck in the past, and
recognize that by thinking differently, particularly on nuclear power, we
can achieve some important objectives, one of which is less reliance on
fossil fuels; second is to work with our partners to help both our
economies grow; and thirdly is to be strong on dealing with the
proliferation issues.

Well, Mr. Prime Minister, it's been a joy.

PRIME MINISTER SINGH: Thank you very much, Mr. President. We have made
history today, and I thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir. Thank you.

END 12:55 P.M. (Local)
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