Since September 11, the people
of the United States and India have been united as never before in the
fight against terrorism. In doing so, they have together reaffirmed the
enduring ties between both nations, and the importance of further transforming
the US-India relationship. In their meeting, President Bush and Prime Minister
Vajpayee discussed ways to accelerate progress towards these goals.
They noted that both countries are
targets of terrorism, as seen in the barbaric attacks on September 11 in
the United States and on October 1 in Kashmir. They agreed that terrorism
threatens not only the security of the United States and India, but also
our efforts to build freedom, democracy and international security and
stability around the world. As leaders of the two largest multi-cultural
democracies, they emphasized that those who equate terrorism with any religion
are as wrong as those who invoke religion to commit, support or justify
terrorist acts.
The two leaders remembered the victims
of the many nationalities in the terrorist attacks on September 11 and
agreed that all appropriate steps should be taken to bring the perpetrators
to justice, while protecting the lives and welfare of the people affected
by these efforts. They noted that both countries are providing humanitarian
assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
They affirmed the current campaign
against the Al-Qaida network and the Taliban in Afghanistan is an important
step in a global war against terrorism and its sponsors everywhere in the
world. They recognized that the international community will have to wage
a long and multi-faceted struggle against terrorism, with patience, determination
and unwavering focus. They emphasized that there is only one choice and
only one outcome: terrorism must be fought and it shall be defeated.
President Bush and Prime Minister
Vajpayee agreed that success in this endeavor would depend heavily on building
international cooperation and securing the unambiguous commitment of all
nations to share information and intelligence on terrorists and deny them
support, sustenance and safe havens. The two leaders agreed to consult
regularly on the future of Afghanistan. They welcomed the measures outlined
in the UNSCR 1373 and called on all nations to ratify and implement existing
UN Conventions on counter-terrorism. They expressed support for India's
draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and urged the
resolution of outstanding issues to enable its adoption by the UNGA.
The leaders of the two countries
expressed satisfaction with the progress made in India-U.S. cooperation
on counter-terrorism, including the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism
established in January 2000. They reaffirmed their personal commitment,
and that of their two countries, to intensify bilateral cooperation as
a critical element in the global effort against terrorism. They also announced
the establishment of a Joint Cyber-Terrorism Initiative. Prime Minister
Vajpayee and President Bush agreed that developments in Afghanistan have
a direct impact on its entire neighborhood. They emphasized that the Taliban
and the Al-Qaida network have turned Afghanistan into a center of terrorism,
extremism, and drug trafficking and have brought immense suffering to the
Afghan people. They agreed that a peaceful, progressive, and prosperous
Afghanistan requires a broad-based government, representing all ethnic
and religious groups, friendly with all countries in the neighborhood and
beyond, as well as sizeable and sustained international assistance for
Afghanistan's economic reconstruction and development. The two leaders
committed themselves to work together, and in partnership with other countries
and international organizations, to achieve these goals.
President Bush and Prime Minister
Vajpayee also affirmed their commitment to complete the process of qualitatively
transforming U.S.-India relations in pursuit of their many common goals
in Asia and beyond. They agreed that U.S.-India relations draw strength
from the broad political support that exits in both democracies. They expressed
satisfaction at the high level of engagement and progress in bilateral
cooperation over the last ten months. In particular, they reiterated their
support for the wide-ranging bilateral dialogue architecture established
in March 2000. The two leaders agreed that recent lifting of economic,
military and technology restrictions on India provides a further impetus
to bilateral relations. They welcomed the resumption of the bilateral Defense
Policy Group as a step towards increasing exchanges and technical cooperation
in the defense and security areas. They noted that India's interest in
purchasing arms from the United States would be discussed at the Defense
Policy Group meetings in December 2001. The two leaders agreed to pursue
policies to enhance the mutually beneficial -- and growing -- economic
and commercial ties between their nations. They also agreed to expand the
Bilateral Economic Dialogue and to broaden dialogue and cooperation in
the areas of energy, the environment, health, space, export controls, science
and technology, including biotechnology and information technology. They
agreed that the two sides should discuss ways to stimulate bilateral high
technology commerce. They also agreed that we should begin a dialogue between
the two governments with a view towards evaluating the processes by which
we transfer dual-use and military items, with a view towards greater transparency
and efficiency. In addition, the United States and India have a mutual
interest in space and have agreed to initiate discussions on civil space
cooperation.
The two leaders expressed confidence
that enhancing their cooperation in all these areas will go far towards
building a long-term partnership between the United States and India that
will greatly benefit citizens of both their nations.
