United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday said that US and India are natural allies not just in counterterrorism but also on a whole host of issues.
Addressing a joint press conference after his one-on meeting with visiting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the President said that one of the things that makes the US and India such strong allies is the people-to-people contact.
'It is one thing for leaders to have exchanges like this one, and that's very important, obviously. But the incredible contributions that Indian Americans have made to the growth of our country and the degree to which they are woven into the very fabric of our society, the fact that very few Indians don't have some family member somewhere who has a connection to the United States -- that kind of exchange strengthens and deepens the bonds between our two countries in a profound way,' Obama said in response to a question.
The question was whether the two countries could be natural allies to combat terrorism given that the US has given military aid to Pakistan, the epicentre of terrorism, which could be misused against India. The President, however, parried a direct reply, only saying that India and the United States, the world's two largest democracies, have a range of shared values and ideals.
"We are both entrepreneurial societies. We are both multiethnic societies. We are societies that believe in human rights and core freedoms that are enshrined in our founding documents," he said.
"Obviously, there are historic conflicts between India and Pakistan. It is not the place of the United States to try to, from the outside, resolve all those conflicts. On the other hand, we want to be encouraging ways in which both India and Pakistan can feel secure, and focus on the development of their own countries and their own people," Obama said.
With respect to the relationship between the United States and Pakistan's military, Obama said there have probably been times in the past in which the two countries were so single-mindedly focused just on military assistance to Islamabad that the US did not think more broadly about how to encourage and develop the kinds of civil society in Pakistan that would make a difference in the lives of people day to day.
"Pakistan has an enormously important role in the security of the region by making sure that the extremist organisations that often operate out of its territories are dealt with effectively. And we have seen some progress," Obama said.
"The work that the Pakistan military is doing in the Swat Valley in west -- in south Waziristan -- all indicates the degree to which they are beginning to recognise that extremism, even if initially directed to the outside, can ultimately also have an adverse impact on their security internally."
Obama said that both he and Dr Singh recognised during discussions that the core goal is to achieve peace and security for all peoples in the region, not just one country or the other.
"One of the things I admire most about Dr Singh is that I think at his core he is a man of peace,' Obama said, adding, "So my hope is, is that over time what we're going to see is further clarity and further cooperation between all the parties and all peoples of goodwill in the region to eradiate terrorist activity, to eradicate the kind of violent extremism that we have seen. I think that will benefit the peoples of Pakistan and India and the world community as well."
Surprisingly though, there was no word on China in their public statements, including at the press conference, on Tuesday.
On Monday at the Council of Foreign Relations, Dr Singh -- while addressing the forum -- said that India wants the world to prepare for the peaceful rise of China as a major power.
"So, engagement is the right strategy for India as well as for the United States. We have tried hard to engage China in the last five years and today China is one of our major trading partners," Dr Singh said.
Dr Singh said that New Delhi also recognises it has a long-standing border problem with Beijing, which the country is trying to resolve through dialogue.
"Both our countries have agreed that pending the resolution of the border problem, peace should be maintained in the border line. I have received these assurances from the Chinese leadership at the highest level. There is a certain amount of assertiveness on the Chinese part. I don't fully understand the reasons for it," he said.
But on Tuesday neither Obama nor Dr Singh mentioned any of this issues relating to China.
"The President and myself had a very useful and productive exchange of views relating to security, peace, and counterterrorism in our regions. I am very satisfied with the outcome of my discussion with President Obama," Dr Singh said.
