HYDERABAD, 4 March 2006 — United States President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice got a feel of rural India during their visit to Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University here yesterday.
They spent an hour-and-a-half on the ANGRAU campus, interacting with agricultural scientists, progressive farmers and members of women’s self-help (thrift) groups. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy accompanied the visiting dignitaries to ANGRAU.
He presented Bush, himself a farmer, with a carton of the famed Banganapalli mangoes and also gifted him with a replica of an Indian plow to remind the American president of the great strides made by Indian farmers in recent years.
The chief minister also presented Bush with a portrait — an oil painting by city-based artist Narender Reddy — and a memento of a silver veena (musical instrument). First lady Laura Bush was gifted a set of Hyderabadi pearls. The university presented a handloom-woven sari and a purse to Condoleezza Rice.
Bush, Laura and Rice spent time with farmers, scientists and members of self-help groups. Bush went round National Seed Project. He saw rice, maize and cotton crops and farm implements even as the chief minister explained the various methods of farming and cultivation, especially the innovative methods adopted in the state.
Bush shook hands with women working as farm laborers in a demonstration field. He examined farm products, laughed heartily as he lifted a jack fruit and a large bitter gourd, patted a giant buffalo and spoke to its owner. The US president also interacted with representatives of several non-governmental organizations helping in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He visited an exhibition where handicrafts and colorful Banjara — a kind of traditional embroidery — dresses made by women self-help groups were on display.
Dressed in a blue shirt and black trousers, Bush walked around ANGRAU campus, trying his hand at the threaded weaving looms on display. He posed for pictures, signed autographs and took straw hats as mementos. Laura Bush met a group of street children on the campus.
Established in 1964 on the pattern of the American Land Grant Colleges, the public-funded agricultural university is the country’s largest and one of the oldest state farm universities.
Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Raghuveera Reddy explained to Rice how village women, through small savings, engaged in economic activity and changed their lives for the better.
In another development, the United States yesterday offered to sell India advanced fighter aircraft as the next step in a rapidly expanding military relationship between the two countries.
The announcement made by the Pentagon said, “The United States is committed to providing state-of-the-art fighter aircraft in response to India’s requirements for a multirole combat aircraft.”
“We have indicated our intention to offer both the F-16 and the F-18, both combat proven aircraft,” it added. The Pentagon also pledged to work to make additional capabilities available to India as they enter the US force, and said its proposal also addresses India’s interest in technology transfers and indigenous co-production.
— Additional input from agencies
