NEW EUROPE:

India a rising global power: US (T.V. Parasuram, April 01, 2003)

Hailing India as a "rising global power," the US has said it is expanding security cooperation with New Delhi through military exchanges and helping to upgrade Indian export-control system to meet international non-proliferation standards.

"Shared interests and values link the United States and India, the world's two largest democracies" and "we will continue to transform our relationship with India, a rising global power," Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca said testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
 
She said, "We are deepening our partnership and are providing assistance on issues ranging from regional stability, non-proliferation and combating terror, to science and technology, economic reform, human rights and global issues."

"We are expanding our security cooperation through a bilateral Defence Planning Group, joint exercises and military exchanges. US security assistance aims at promoting cooperation and interoperability, and we are helping to upgrade India's export-control system to meet international non-proliferation standards."

As the US continues an expanded economic dialogue with India, Rocca said, its economic and development programmes aimed at assisting the completion of fiscal, trade and other reforms that will promote economic stability and by extension reduce poverty.

It's all good fun to pretend that Eastern Europe has a future, while France and Germany don't, but in reality all of Europe is toast and the future lies in places like India, which has added importance as a potential Eastern Front if the war against terror becomes a broader clash with Islam. It's gratifying to see the supposedly immature Bush administration ignore the Indian governm,ent's self-serving but unserious comments about the Iraq War and continue to pursue a political, economic, military alliance. Posted by Orrin Judd at April 1, 2003 1:52 PM