MUMBAI: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Mumbai on Saturday night on a five-day visit to India, clarified here on Saturday that the US has not compelled India to resume talks again with Pakistan.
“There is a democratic government in India and in Pakistan and they have taken their own decisions to resume talks,” she said.
Speaking at a press conference, Clinton said that it has always been the aim and objectives of the US to extend help and support to fight against terrorism. But for this the US has never pressurized or tried to exert pressure on both the countries to resume talks.
Clinton on her first visit to India after assuming the post of the Secretary of State of the US, held discussions with industralists at the Taj Hotel.
Those present at the discussion with Clinton were Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group of Companies, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Group of Companies, O.P. Bhat, Chairman State Bank of India, Chanda Kochar, Managing Director of ICICI Bank, Narayan Murty, founder of Infoys, and his wife, Jamshed Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group of Companies, and some other industrialists.
Stating that there is a great Indian influence on her, Hillary said a new era of friendship with India has begun under the tenure of US President Barack Obama.
Referring to the recent bomb blasts in Indonesia, Clinton said that it appears that terrorism is still alive. She said that the US was committed and duty bound to eliminate terrorism from the world.
Clinton discussed the efforts of US and other countries to tackle the global recession with the industrialists.
She expressed satisfaction over the discussions that she had with the industrialists on a number of topics, among them global warming, development and education.
Expressing hope that the new beginning of relations between US and India, Clinton said “I hope we all together would work hard to construct a beautiful world for the future generation.” She later paid floral tributes to the martyrs of last November Mumbai terror attacks.
She was emotional when she visited the Taj Mahal hotel, and met employees of the hotel.
The Taj Mahal hotel where Clinton and her delegation stayed was turned into a fortress, with Mumbai police and American security personnel putting a heavy security cordon around it.
A heavily armed force, sniffer dog units, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) were pressed for her security.
The US Consulate in Mumbai said that Secretary Clinton will later in the day travel to New Delhi where she will have a full schedule of meetings with government officials, the leader of the opposition, entrepreneurs, scientists, and youth groups.
