The Bush administration views India as a "very important country" with whom it has much "commonality." This was stated by US Vice President Richard Cheney during a 25-minute meeting he had with visiting CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi here yesterday.
The two leaders are understood to have discussed during their "friendly and cordial" meeting bilateral, regional andglobal issues as well as the forthcoming Indo-Pak Summit.
Sonia, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is believed to have informed him that her party has always beenin favour of dialogue with Pakistan, sources said.
Earlier, addressing the Congressional India Caucus, she also lauded Indo-American friendship and the work being done by the India Caucus, saying both New Delhi and Washington were moredeeeply engaged than ever before in fruitful dialogue across a broad spectrum ofissues.
"We share a deep and abiding commitment to humanrights and representative, multiparty democracy. We share a commitment torespecting and celebrating multiple diversities and pluralities.
"We share a commitment to protecting and promotingsecular values and in combating the dangers of religious fundamentalism,obscurantism and extremism. We share a commitment to strengthening therule-based multilateral system of free and fair international trade," shesaid.
Sonia also hailed the contribution of the Indiandiaspora. "The wonderfully gifted and extraordinarily talented Indiandiaspora is contributing to enriching American technological, scientific,academic, corporate and cultural life," she said.
"To be sure, in some areas we do have differentperspectives... What is promising is the conviction in both countries that wework cooperatively in areas of mutual agreement without allowing our differencesto come in the way, while pursuing the track of discussions and dialogue tonarrow those differences," she said.
Elaborating on economic and social transformation Indiawas going through, she said, liberalization, political decentralization andsocial empowerment "are the three most profound changes that India isexperiencing." "India's traditional problems remain. But what yousense is a new aspiration and a renewed determination to address themmeaningfully but always in the framework of democacy and rule of law.
