WASHINGTON, 10 November — President George W. Bush yesterday shrugged off criticism of the US-led war on terror from visiting Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as both leaders vowed to fight the global scourge together and improve relations.
"My administration is committed to developing a fundamentally different relationship with India — one based upon trust; one based upon mutual values," said Bush. "It’s an important relationship for our country."
The Indian leader assured Bush of his "complete support" in the war on terrorism and declared their first face-to-face meeting since the president took office in January as "an extremely rewarding experience."
Vajpayee’s meeting with Bush comes a day before the US president is due to meet President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The two leaders’ friendly exchange came after Vajpayee told the Washington Post that the US military campaign against Afghanistan’s Taleban rulers for refusing to hand over Bin Laden "cannot be described as fully satisfactory" and even appears to be "slackening" at times.
Prodded by a reporter, the president waved off the report, saying his talks with Vajpayee were among "candid discussions" with partners in the global coalition behind the US.
"I was glad to be able to make the case as to why we’re going to be successful," said Bush, who said he would travel to India "as soon as possible" in response to a renewed invitation from Vajpayee. He did not specify a date.
Both leaders held up the possibility of improving economic ties between the United States and India, the world’s largest democracy.
"Economic and commercial relations are expanding. We’ve agreed to broaden the bilateral economic dialogue to include new areas of cooperation," Vajpayee insisted at a joint appearance after a closed-door meeting.
"I look forward to working to foster ties that will help both our economies. Trade with India is going to be an important part of our growth in the future," said Bush, who paid tribute to India’s "fantastic ability to grow."
The visiting leader said he expected dialogue on defense policy to promote technical cooperation in security issues and that they had agreed to launch a joint initiative to combat cyber-terrorism.
The US president declared that the coalition against terrorism "has never been stronger. I’ll make the case tomorrow at the United Nations that the time of sympathy is over.
"We appreciate the condolences. Now is the time for action. Now is the time for coalition members to respond in their own way, and the prime minister of India understands that, and he is responding," he said firmly.
