Indian Foreign Minister gets audience with Bush

20/01/2004 at 23:02:04

Date line: WASHINGTON
President George W. Bush on Tuesday marked thawing tensions in South Asia and widening ties between Washington and New Delhi by welcoming Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha to the White House.

Bush took time out from preparing his State of the Union address to Congress to hold an early morning meeting with Sinha, who also held talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The meeting followed last week’s announcement by India and the United States of a drive to deepen relations between the world’s richest democracy and its largest, in space, commerce and civilian nuclear programs.

It came amid rising hopes for permanent peace in South Asia, after what Washington has described as India and Pakistan’s “historic” decision to resume dialogue.

Sinha later said that Indian and US relations, on an upward track for several years, had never been better.

“The nature, the level and frequency of dialogue is unprecedented in our bilateral relations,” he said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The White House said Bush congratulated Sinha on the “important progress being made in the relationship between Pakistan and India.”

“They also discussed the next steps in the strategic partnership between India and the United States.”

India last week warmly greeted Bush’s promise last week of closer links with India over nuclear regulation and safety, missile defence and common projects on civilian uses of space technology.

The two sides will tighten restrictions to try to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Bush said in a statement released on the margins of the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico.

The US had imposed sanctions on India’s nuclear and space programmes after New Delhi carried out nuclear blasts in 1998, resulting in a freeze on exchanges on nuclear and critical high-tech sectors.

The decision to resume contact on nuclear safety was taken in November 2001 at a meeting between Bush and Vajpayee.

India, which traditionally had closer ties with cold war ally Russia, has been strengthening its relations with the US, evident in a series of joint military exercises in the last two years.

India’s support to the US in the global campaign against terrorism following the September 11 attack has helped bring about the transformation.

But Washington has carefully balanced its warming ties with India by trying to bind its bitter rival Pakistan into its anti-terror coalition, and hence supports any rapprochment between the two neigbors.

Bush meets with Indian FM

20/01/2004 at 16:05:51

Date line: WASHINGTON
US President George W. Bush met Tuesday with Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, praising recent progress towards defusing tensions between India and Pakistan, the White House said.

“The president congratulated the foreign minister on the important progress being made in the relationship between Pakistan and India,” spokesman Scott McClellan said after the early-morning meeting at the presidential mansion.

“They also discussed the next steps in the strategic partnership between India and the United States” in the wake of US President George W. Bush’s announcement last week of deepening cooperation on space, missile defense and civilian nuclear programs, said McClellan.

“Cooperation in these areas will deepen the ties of commerce and friendship between our two nations and will increase stability in Asia and beyond,” Bush said in a statement announcing the shift.

The two nations will take “a series of reciprocal steps,” including expanded engagement on nuclear regulatory and safety issues and missile defense, and they will seek ways to enhance cooperation in peaceful uses of space technology, said Bush.

On the high-technology trade front, the two sides will tighten restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

McClellan declined to comment on the 1.5-billion-dollar military contract India signed with Russia on Tuesday, saying Bush’s meeting with the diplomat lasted just 15 minutes.

The deal covers the sale of a refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier to the Indian navy, as well as supplying 28 MiG-29K maritime fighter jets and other “components,” according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov.

India-Russia to Jointly Develop New Weapon Systems

(Source: Press Trust of India; issued Jan. 18, 2004)

MOSCOW — Encouraged by successful cooperation in developing a “unique” Brahmos cruise missile for the navy, India and Russia are set to move towards developing new weapon systems jointly from R&D stage to joint production.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said the Indo-Russian accord on the development of a fifth generation fighter was one of such example and that the Gorshkov deal would be a major defense deal between India and Russia.

Responding to a question about the growing presence of foreign players in the Indian arms market, Ivanov, talking to Moscow-based Indian journalists ahead of his Indian visit, said Russia was not afraid of losing its place.

“We had never planned to monopolize the Indian (arms) market. Depending only on one source is bad for any armed forces, it leads to their degradation,” Ivanov said Russia understand India’s desire to get the best available technology and welcomes it, and has to compete by offering the best technology.

He said that Moscow was not averse to ties with third parties while working on Indian defense orders.

“In one of such cases Russia has a share with Israel,” Ivanov said referring to Phalcon radar deal with Jerusalem.

Referring to the spate of articles in the Indian media critical of the Russian supply of spares and contractual problems in Su-30MKI, Ivanov said all necessary infrastructure and measures have been taken for the supply of spares and after sales service