Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (mahn-MO-hahn) met with President George W. Bush at the White House. Mr. Singh says his visit to the U.S. is "an opportunity to develop and take forward this strategic partnership between India and the United States":
"We face common challenges that threaten our way of life and values that both our countries hold dear. We share a common resolve and a common responsibility to meet those challenges."
President Bush says that the U.S. and India recently signed an agreement to meet common security objectives:
"We're working together on counterterrorism to help protect our people and make the world a safer place." In a joint statement, President Bush and Prime Minister Singh agreed that India and the United States would cooperate fully on the use of civilian nuclear power to help meet India's growing energy needs. U.S. deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli says the statement includes "a number of things that were agreed to beyond India's peaceful nuclear program":
"It talks about modernization of India's infrastructure. It talks about a U.S.-India knowledge initiative on agriculture. There's also a democracy development side to the agreement.... We talk about disaster relief initiatives, a U.S.-India defense relationship. And we also...look forward to signing a science and technology framework agreement for joint research in space...."
The U.S. and India "are bound together by common values. As two strong, diverse democracies," says President Bush, the two countries "share a commitment to the success of multi-ethnic democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.