New Delhi
25 March 2008
Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee on Monday met with
United States President George W Bush at the White House and discussed the entire
gamut of bilateral ties, including the proposed India-US civil nuclear cooperation
agreement. The Ministry of External Affairs here was not forthcoming on what transpired
in the 35-minute meeting held at the Oval Office. There was no official word from the
White House either.
Mr Mukherjee is understood to have iterated what he told US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice earlier in the day: That discussions are on with the allies of the UPA
Government for resolving outstanding issues on the nuclear deal. He sought to convey
to the Bush Administration that the India-US partnership is based on a bedrock of long-
term commitments and a shared vision.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in her briefing before Mr Mukherjee's
meeting with Mr Bush that the US President is excited to meet with the Indian minister.
"There's lots of different things to talk about. We have a broad and deep relationship
with India on a variety of issues, including the civil nuclear agreement that you
mentioned. And I'm sure they'll talk about other things as well," she told reporters on
Monday.
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley received Mr Mukherjee at the White House
and took him to the Oval office to meet with Mr Bush. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice was also present. Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, Joint Secretary
(Americas) Gayatri Kumar, Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen and Deputy Chief of
Mission Raminder Jassal comprised the Indian delegation. Mr Mukherjee and Ms Rice
again met over dinner.
In the one-on-one dinner, they are understood to have had an in-depth discussion on
matters of mutual interest. Their meeting earlier in the day was confined to regional
issues.
In her joint news conference with Mr Mukherjee on Monday, Ms Rice said she had had
an opportunity to talk about the deepening of economic ties and defence cooperation,
besides the deepening of the India-US dialogue about regional issues. "We had, for
instance, a discussion this morning concerning Tibet and the troubling circumstances
there, as well as on Burma," she told reporters.
Mr Mukherjee, for his part, conveyed to Ms Rice his appreciation and recognition of her
"personal contribution" for the transformation of India-US relations and giving them a
strong foundation for the future. "The record number of landmark developments in India-
US ties over the last few years would not have been possible without a broad-based
convergence of interests and concerns between our two countries," he observed.
Mr Mukherjee said that both sides have agreed to maintain the positive momentum in
their bilateral ties. "There is a broad overlap in our interests and objectives, and we
intend to supplement our dialogue with a closer working-level interaction on a regular
basis within the Ministry of External Affairs in India and the US State Department," he
added.
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