'I Come To India As A Friend'

US President Discusses Strong U.S.-India Partnership in Purana Qila, NewDelhi, India

Thank you. Thank you. Please be seated. Distinguished guests, namaste. Laura and I have been looking forward to this visit for a long time, and we'redelighted to be in India.

Over the past two days we've been grateful for your kind reception, touched byyour warm hospitality, and dazzled by this vibrant and exciting land. Iappreciate the opportunity to speak to the Indian people. I'm honored to bringthe good wishes and the respect of the world's oldest democracy to the world'slargest democracy. 

Tonight we stand on the ruins of an ancient city that was the capital of anIndian kingdom thousands of years ago. Today it is part of a modern Asian citythat is the capital of one of the world's great nations. At the heart of acivilization that helped give the world mathematics, cutting-edge businesses nowgive us the technology of tomorrow. In the birthplace of great religions, abillion souls of varied faiths now live side-by-side in freedom and peace. Whenyou come to India in the 21st century, you're inspired by the past, and you cansee the future.

India in the 21st century is a natural partner of the United States because weare brothers in the cause of human liberty. Yesterday, I visited a memorial toMahatma Gandhi, and read the peaceful words of a fearless man. His words arefamiliar in my country because they helped move a generation of Americans toovercome the injustice of racial segregation. When Martin Luther King arrived inDelhi in 1959, he said to other countries, "I may go as a tourist, but toIndia, I come as a pilgrim."  I come to India as a friend. 

For many years, the United States and India were kept apart by the rivalriesthat divided the world. That's changed. Our two great democracies are now unitedby opportunities that can lift our people, and by threats that can bring downall our progress. The United States and India, separated by half the globe, arecloser than ever before, and the partnership between our free nations has thepower to transform the world. 

The partnership between the United States and India has deep and sturdy roots inthe values we share. Both our nations were founded on the conviction that allpeople are created equal and are endowed with certain fundamental rights,including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. Thosefreedoms are enshrined in law through our written constitutions, and they areupheld daily by institutions common to both our democracies -- an electedlegislature, an independent judiciary, a loyal political opposition, and, as Iknow well here in India, a lively free press. 

In both our countries, democracy is more than a form of government, it is thecentral promise of our national character. We believe that every citizendeserves equal liberty and justice, because we believe that every life has equaldignity and value. We believe all societies should welcome people of everyculture, ethnicity and religion. And because of this enduring commitment, theUnited States and India have overcome trials in our own history. We're proud tostand together among the world's great democracies.

The partnership between the United States and India begins with democracy, andit does not end there. Our people share a devotion to family, a passion forlearning, a love of the arts, and much more. The United States is the proud homeof more than two million Americans of Indian descent, a figure that has morethan tripled over the last 20 years. America is honored to welcome 500,000Indian tourists and businesspeople to our country each year. And we benefit from80,000 Indian students at our universities, more than we have from any othernation. Many Americans have made tremendous contributions to my country intechnology and medicine and business and countless other fields.

When I meet with the United States Congress, I talked to a brilliant IndianAmerican who represents the state of Louisiana. I've returned the salute ofIndian Americans who defend my nation in battle as members of the United StatesArmed Forces. And on a sad morning three years ago, we learned that a braveastronaut born in India had been lost aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. I knowthat India will always be proud of Dr. Kalpana Chawla, and so will the UnitedStates of America. 

Americans are spending more time in India, as well, and it's easy to see why.India is rich in history, culture, and activities -- from the mountains of Delhito the holy sites of Varanasi, to the studios of Bollywood. Today I met with afascinating group of students and farmers and entrepreneurs in Hyderabad -- plusit was exciting to be in the hometown of Sania Mirza. To encourage more traveland more contact between our people, the United States intends to open a newconsulate in Hyderabad. We'll also build a new state-of-the-art American Centerhere in Delhi. By taking these steps we'll continue to strengthen the tiesbetween our two countries, our two democracies.

At the start of this young century, the United States of America and theRepublic of India are working together to achieve two great purposes, to expandthe circle of prosperity and development across the world, and to defeat ourcommon enemies by advancing the just and noble cause of human freedom.

Our first great purpose is to spread prosperity and opportunity to people in ourown land, to millions who have not known it. The freedom that sustains India'sdemocracy is now bringing dramatic changes to India's economy. Thanks to yourcountry's wise economic reforms and advances in technology, unprecedentedopportunities are coming to India, and you are seizing those opportunities.

India's innovative people have begun to look outward and connect to the globaleconomy as never before. Today, India has more cell phones than land-linephones. And all that separates a business in Bangalore from a business in Bostonis an email, a text message, or video conference. Indian entrepreneurs have usedthese new connections to meet the demands of consumers and businesses all acrossthe globe. As a result, your economy has more than doubled in size since youopened up your markets in 1991. You've dramatically raised the living standardsof your citizens. India's middle class now numbers 300 million people, more thanthe entire population of the United States.

America welcomes India's economic rise, because we understand that as othernations prosper, it creates more opportunity for us all. In a free economy,every citizen has something to contribute. That is why trade is such a powerfulengine of prosperity and upward mobility. When markets are opened and the poorare given a chance to develop their talents and abilities, they can create abetter life for their families, they add to the wealth of the world, and theycan begin to afford goods and services from other nations. Free and fair tradeis good for India, it's good for America, and it is good for the world.

In my country, some focus only on one aspect of our trade relationship withIndia: outsourcing. It's true that some Americans have lost jobs when theircompanies moved operations overseas. It's also important to remember that whensomeone loses a job, it's an incredibly difficult period for the worker andtheir families. Some people believe the answer to this problem is to wall offour economy from the world through protectionist policies. I strongly disagree.My government is helping Americans who have lost their jobs get new skills fornew careers. And we're helping to create millions of new jobs in both ourcountries by embracing the opportunities of a global economy.

We see those opportunities here in India. Americans who come to this countrywill see Indian consumers buying McCurry Meals from McDonald's, home appliancesfrom Whirlpool. They will see Indian businesses buying American products likethe 68 planes that Air India recently order from Boeing. They will also seeAmerican businesses like General Electric and Microsoft and Intel who are inIndia to learn about the needs of local customers and do vital research thatmakes their products more competitive in world markets. The United States willnot give into the protectionists and lose these opportunities. For the sake ofworkers in both our countries, America will trade with confidence. 

India has responsibilities, as well. India needs to continue to lift its caps onforeign investment, to make its rules and regulations more transparent, and tocontinue to lower its tariffs and open its markets to American agriculturalproducts, industrial goods and services. We also hope India will continue towork to ensure that its own people are treated fairly by enforcing laws thatprotect children and workers from trafficking and exploitation and abuse. Byenforcing its laws and educating its people and continuing to open up itseconomy, India can assure that prosperity and opportunity of a growing economyreaches all segments of India's population.

The world also needs India's leadership to open up global markets. The DohaRound of trade talks at the World Trade Organization provides the greatestopportunity to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and boosteconomic growth in both our countries. The United States has been pushing for anambitious agreement on services and manufacturing and agriculture. PrimeMinister Singh and I share the goal of completing the Doha Round by the end ofthis year, and we'll work together to achieve this goal. By completing Doha wewill help build a world that lives in liberty, and trades in freedom, and growsin prosperity, and America and India will lead the way. 

By leading together, America and India can meet other global challenges, and oneof the biggest is energy. Like America, India's growing economy requires growingamounts of electricity. And the cleanest and most reliable way to meet that needis through civilian nuclear power. Last summer in Washington, America and Indiareached an agreement to share civilian nuclear technology and to bring India'scivilian nuclear programs under the safeguards of the International AtomicAgency. In our meetings this week, Palestinian Singh and I agreed on a plan toimplement this historic initiative. Our agreement will strengthen the securityand the economy of both our nations. 

By applying the most advanced technology and international standards to India'scivilian nuclear program, we will increase safety and reduce the risk ofproliferation. And by helping India meet its energy needs, we will take thepressure off the price of fossil fuels for consumers in India and America andaround the world. We'll help India be good stewards of our environment, and wewill strengthen the bonds of trust between our two great nations. 

America and India are also cooperating closely in agriculture. The United Statesworked with India to help meet its food needs in the 1960s, when pioneeringAmerican scientists like Norman Borlaug shared agriculture technology withIndian farmers. Thanks to your hard work, you have nearly tripled your foodproduction over the past half-century. To build on this progress, Prime MinisterSingh and I are launching a new Agricultural Knowledge Initiative. Thisinitiative will invest $100 million to encourage exchanges between American andIndian scientists and promote joint research to improve farming technology. Byworking together the United States and India will develop better ways to growcrops and get them to market, and lead a second Green Revolution. 

America and India are pursuing an historic agenda for cooperation in many otherareas. We're working together to improve education and conservation and naturaldisaster response. We're cooperating closely in science and technology. And topromote the ties between American and Indian scientists, we're establishing anew $30-million science and technology commission that will fund joint researchin promising areas like biotechnology. 

We're working to improve health by confronting the threat of avian flu, reducingthe spread of malaria and tuberculosis, and eliminating polio in India. Ournations also share the global challenge of HIV/AIDS. India must confront thischallenge directly, openly, and at all levels of society. And as you do, Americawill be your partner in turning the tide against this terrible disease. 

The United States and India have ambitious goals for our partnership. We haveunprecedented opportunities in this world. We can look to the future withconfidence because our relationship has never been better. America and India areglobal leaders and we are good friends, and when we work together, there is nolimit to what we can achieve. 

The second great purpose is to confront the threats of our time by fightingterror and advancing freedom across the globe. Both our nations have known thepain of terror on our home soil. On September the 11th, 2001, nearly 3,000innocent people were murdered in my country, including more than 30 who wereborn in India. Just over three months ago, terrorists struck the ParliamentHouse here in Delhi, an attack on the heart of Indian democracy.

In both our countries, people have struggled to understand the reason forterrorist assaults on free societies. We've begun to learn some of the answers.The terrorists are followers of a violent ideology that calls for the murder ofChristians and Hindus and Sikhs and Jews, and vast numbers of Muslims who do notshare their radical views. The terrorists' goal is to impose a hateful visionthat denies all political and religious freedom. Those terrorists lack themilitary strength to challenge great nations directly, so they use the weapon offear. When terrorists murder innocent office workers in New York, or killshoppers at a market in Delhi, or blow up commuters in London, they hope thesehorror will break our will. They target democracies because they think we areweak and they think we can be frightened into retreat. The terrorists havemisunderstood our countries. America and India love our freedom, and we willfight to keep it. 

When your Prime Minister addressed the United States Congress, he said this:"We must fight terrorism wherever it exists, because terrorism anywherethreatens democracy everywhere." He is right. And so America and India areallies in the war against terror. 

After the attacks of September the 11th, the Indian Navy provided vital supportto Operation Enduring Freedom by relieving American ships securing the Strait ofMalacca, and we thank the Indian Navy. Today, our nations are cooperatingclosely on critical areas like bioterrorism and airport security and cybersecurity. Our military cooperation is stronger than ever before. America andIndia are in this war together, and we will win this war together. 

In the long run, the United States and India understand that winning the war onterror requires changing the conditions that give rise to terror. History showsus the way. From the East to West, we've seen that only one force is powerfulenough to replace hatred with hope, and that is the force of human freedom. Freesocieties do not harbor terrorists or breed resentment. Free societies respectthe rights of their citizens and their neighbors. Free societies are peacefulsocieties.

As your first Prime Minister, Prime Minister Nehru, once said: "Evilflourishes far more in the shadows than in the light of day." Together,America and India will bring the light of freedom to the darkest corners of ourEarth. 

Nearly 60 years have passed since India mounted a courageous fight for a freecountry of your own. The American people stood with you in the struggle forfreedom. President Franklin Roosevelt was one of the first world leaders tosupport India's independence. Through the decades, India has built a strongdemocracy in which people from different faiths live together in freedom andpeace.

India has a Hindu majority, and one of the world's largest Muslim populations.India is also home to millions of Sikhs and Christians and other religiousgroups. All worship freely in temples and mosques and churches all across thisgreat land. Indians of diverse backgrounds attend school together and worktogether and govern your nation together. As a multi-ethnic, multi-religiousdemocracy, India is showing the world that the best way to ensure fairness andtolerance is to establish the rule of law.  The best way to counterresentment is to allow peaceful expression. The best way to honor human dignityis to protect human rights. For every nation divided by race, religion orculture, India offers a hopeful path: If justice is the goal, then democracy isthe way. 

The world has benefitted from the example of India's democracy, and now theworld needs India's leadership in freedom's cause. As a global power, India hasan historic duty to support democracy around the world. In Afghanistan, which Ijust visited on Wednesday, the world is beginning to see what India's leadershipcan accomplish. Since the Taliban was removed from power, India has pledged $565million to help the Afghan people to get back on their feet. Your country hastrained National Assembly staff, and developing a similar program for theAssembly's elected leaders. You recently announced that you'll provide anadditional $50 million to help the Afghans complete their National Assemblybuilding. After so many years of suffering, the Afghan people are reclaiming afuture of hope and freedom, and they will always remember that in their hour ofneed, India stood with them. 

India is also showing its leadership in the cause of democracy by co-foundingthe Global Democracy Initiative. Prime Minister Singh and I were proud to be thefirst two contributors to this initiative to promote democracy and developmentacross the world. Now India can build on this commitment by working directlywith nations where democracy is just beginning to emerge. As the world's youngdemocracies take shape, India offers a compelling example of how to preserve acountry's unique culture and history while guaranteeing the universal freedomsthat are the foundation of genuine democracies.

India's leadership is needed in a world that is hungry for freedom. Men andwomen from North Korea to Burma to Syria to Zimbabwe to Cuba yearn for theirliberty.