Clinton on women empowerment, climate change, terror

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday morning held a brief press conference at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai.

She addressed questions on climate change, women politicians, terror and Pakistan.

"For me, it is absolutely undeniable that the progress of women is directly linked to the progress of any country," Clinton said.

"I am very impressed by Indian women. I have been involved with a number of organisations that have worked in India to promote economic opportunity and greater choices in the lives of women here," she said.

"It is a priority of your government to create more literacy among women, more opportunities for women of India and I will do whatever I can to support and promote that development," Clinton said.

Speaking on the recent talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt, Clinton clarified that the US will not put any pressure on India to resume talks with Pakistan.

"It is for India and Pakistan to decide if they want to resume the composite dialogue. We respect the sovereignty of India and Pakistan. US will not pressurise India to resume talks with Pakistan as it is for a sovereign state to decide on it," she said.

Clinton acknowledged that the developed nations including the US had made mistakes and that those mistakes had led to the disastrous position of today.

"I can only hope and suggest that India should learn from those mistakes," she said. As a country, she argued, India had shown remarkable ability to leapfrog technological time - as witnessed by the 500 million cell phone user base or the rapidly growing internet penetration.

She hoped, therefore, that India will similarly jump ahead of the rest in technologies to reduce carbon emissions, even as it went flat out on the path of economic progress aimed at alleviating poverty.

"There is no inherent contradiction between poverty eradication and moving towards a carbon emission-free regime," Clinton said.