Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Washington, D.C.
President Addresses Asia Society, Discusses India and Pakistan
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Madam President -- it's got a nice ring to it. (Laughter.) Thank you for your kind
introduction; thank you for inviting me here. I'm honored to be here with the members of the Asia Society as you
celebrate your 50th anniversary.
I came here today to talk about America's relationship with two key nations in Asia: India and Pakistan. These nations
are undergoing great changes, and those changes are being felt all across the world. More than five centuries ago,
Christopher Columbus set out for India and proved the world was round. Now some look at India's growing economy and say
that that proves that the world is flat. (Laughter.) No matter how you look at the world, our relationship with these
countries are important. They're important for our economic security, and they're important for our national security.
I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Singh in India, and President Musharraf in Pakistan. We will discuss ways
that our nations can work together to make our world safer and more prosperous by fighting terrorism, advancing
democracy, expanding free and fair trade, and meeting our common energy needs in a responsible way.
I appreciate Ambassador Holbrooke. I appreciate your service to our country. Thanks for being the Chairman of the Asia
Society. Leo Daly is the Chairman of the Asia Society of Washington. Leo, thank you. It's good to see you. I appreciate
the members of the Diplomatic Corps that have joined us today, in particular, Ambassador Sen from India, and Ambassador
Karamat from Pakistan. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and here the President give a talk.
Fifty years ago, many Asian nations were still colonies; today, Asians are in charge of their own destinies. Fifty years
ago, there were only a handful of democracies in Asia; today there are nearly a dozen. Fifty years ago, most of Asia was
mired in hopeless poverty; today its economies are engines of prosperity. These changes have been dramatic, and as the
Asian continent grows in freedom and opportunity, it will be a source of peace and stability and prosperity for all the
world.
The transformation of Asia is beginning to improve the lives of citizens in India and Pakistan, and the United States
welcomes this development. The United States has not always enjoyed close relations with Pakistan and India. In the
past, the Cold War and regional tensions kept us apart, but today, our interests and values are bringing us closer
together. We share a common interest in promoting open economies that creates jobs and opportunities for our people. We
have acted on common values to deliver compassionate assistance to people who have been devastated by natural disasters.
And we face a common threat in Islamic extremism. Today I'm going to discuss America's long-term interests and goals in
this important part of the world, and how the United States can work together with India and Pakistan to achieve them.
The first stop on my trip will be India. India is the world's largest democracy. It is home to more than a billion
people -- that's more than three times the population of the United States. Like our own country, India has many
different ethnic groups and religious traditions. India has a Hindu majority, and about 150 million Muslims in that
country. That's more than in any other country except Indonesia and Pakistan. India's government reflects its diversity.
India has a Muslim president and a Sikh prime minister. I look forward to meeting with both of them. India is a good
example of how freedom can help different people live together in peace. And this commitment to secular government and
religious pluralism makes India a natural partner for the United States.
In my meetings with Prime Minister Singh, we'll discuss ways to advance the strategic partnership that we announced last
July. Through this partnership, the United States and India are cooperating in five broad areas.
First, the United States and India are working together to defeat the threat of terrorism. Like the American people, the
people of India have suffered directly from terrorist attacks on their home soil. To defeat the terrorists, our
intelligence and law enforcement agencies are cooperating on a regular basis to make air travel more secure, increase
the security of cyberspace, and prevent bioterrorist attacks. Our two governments are sharing vital information on
suspected terrorists and potential threats. And these cooperative efforts will make the Indian government more effective
as a partner in the global war on terror, and will make the people in both our countries more secure.
Secondly, the United States and India are working together to support democracy around the world. Like America, India
overcame colonialism to establish a free and independent nation. President Franklin Roosevelt supported India in its
quest for democracy, and now our two nations are helping other nations realize the same dream.
Last year we launched the Global Democracy Initiative, which is a joint venture between India and the United States to
promote democracy and development across the world. Under this initiative, India and the United States have taken
leadership roles in advancing the United Nations Democracy Fund. The fund will provide grants to governments and civil
institutions and international organizations to help them administer elections, fight corruption, and build the rule of
law in emergency democracy -- in emerging democracies. We're also encouraging India to work directly with other nations
that will benefit from India's experience of building a multiethnic democracy that respects the rights of religious
minorities.
India's work in Afghanistan is a good example of India's commitment to emerging democracies. India has pledged $565
million to help the Afghan people repair the infrastructure and get back on their feet. And recently, India announced it
would provide an additional $50 million to help the Afghans complete their National Assembly building. India has trained
National Assembly staff, and it's developing a similar program for the Assembly's elected leaders. The people of America
and India understand that a key part of defeating the terrorists is to replace their ideology of hatred with an ideology
of hope. And so we will continue to work together to advance the cause of liberty.
Third, the United States and India are working together to promote global prosperity through free and fair trade.
America's economic relationship with India is strong and it's getting better. Last year, our exports to India grew by
more than 30 percent. We had a trade surplus of $1.8 billion in services. India is now one of the fastest-growing
markets for American exports, and the growing economic ties between our two nations are making American companies more
competitive in the global marketplace. And that's helping companies create good jobs here in America.
The growing affluence of India is a positive development for our country. America accounts for 5 percent of the world's
population. That means 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders. More than a billion of them live
in India. We welcome the growing prosperity of the Indian people, and the potential market it offers for America's goods
and services.
When trade is free and fair, it benefits all sides. At the end of World War II, the United States chose to help Germany
and Japan recover. America understood then that as other nations prosper, their growing wealth brings greater stability
to their regions and more opportunities for products Americans manufacture and grow. The same is true today with
developing nations such as India. As India's economy expands, it means a better life for the Indian people and greater
stability for the region. It means a bigger market for America's businesses and workers and farmers.
The area of America's relationship with India that seems to receive the most attention is outsourcing. It's true that a
number of Americans have lost jobs because companies have shifted operations to India. And losing a job is traumatic.
It's difficult. It puts a strain on our families. But rather than respond with protectionist policies, I believe it
makes sense to respond with educational polices to make sure that our workers are skilled for the jobs of the 21st
century.
We must also recognize that India's growth is creating new opportunities for our businesses and farmers and workers.
India's middle class is now estimated at 300 million people. Think about that. That's greater than the entire population
of the United States. India's middle class is buying air-conditioners, kitchen appliances, and washing machines, and a
lot of them from American companies like GE, and Whirlpool, and Westinghouse. And that means their job base is growing
here in the United States of America. Younger Indians are acquiring a taste for pizzas from Domino's -- (laughter) --
Pizza Hut. And Air India ordered 68 planes valued at more than $11 billion from Boeing, the single largest commercial
airplane order in India's civilian aviation history. Today India's consumers associate American brands with quality and
value, and this trade is creating opportunity here at home.
Americans also benefit when U.S. companies establish research centers to tap into India's educated workforce. This
investment makes American companies more competitive globally. It lowers the cost for American consumers. Texas
Instruments is a good example. Today Texas Instruments employs 16,000 workers in America. It gets more than 80 percent
of its revenues from sales overseas. More than 20 years ago, Texas Instruments opened a center in Bangalore, which is
India's Silicon Valley. They did so to assist in analog chip design, and digital chip design, and related software
development. The company says that their research centers in countries like India allow them to run their design efforts
around the clock. They bring additional brainpower to help solve problems, and provide executives in the United States
with critical information about the needs of their consumers and customers overseas.
These research centers help Texas Instruments to get their products to market faster. It helps Texas Instruments become
more competitive in a competitive world. It makes sense. The research centers are good for India, and they're good for
workers here in the United States.
In the past decade, India has made dramatic progress in opening its markets to foreign trade and investment, but there's
more work to be done. India needs to continue to lift its caps on foreign investment, to make its rules and regulations
more transparent, and to continue to lower its tariffs and open its markets to American agricultural products,
industrial goods, and services. We'll continue to work for agreements on these economic and regulatory reforms, to
ensure that America's goods and services are treated fairly. My attitude is this: If the rules are fair, I believe our
companies and our farmers and our entrepreneurs can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere.
India is an important -- as a market for American products, India is also important as a partner in opening up world
markets. As a new nation, India emphasized self-sufficiency and adopted strong protectionist policies. During this
period, its economy stagnated and poverty grew. India now recognizes that a brighter future for its people depends on a
free and fair global trading order. Today the Doha Round of trade talks at the World Trade Organization provides the
greatest opportunity to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and to boost economic growth across the
world. The WTO members' aim is to complete the Doha Round by the end of this year. India has played an important
leadership role in the Doha talks, and we look to India to continue to lead as we work together for an ambitious
agreement on services and manufacturing and agriculture.
Fourth, the United States and India are working together to improve human health and the environment, and address the
issue of climate change. So we've joined together to create the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and
Climate. Together with Australia and China and Japan and South Korea, we will focus on practical ways to make the best
practices and latest energy technologies available to all -- things like -- technologies like zero-emission coal-fired
plants. As nations across the region adopt these practices and technologies, they will make their factories and power
plants cleaner and more efficient. We look forward to being an active partner in this partnership.
Fifth, the United States and India will work together to help India meet its energy needs in a practical and responsible
way. That means addressing three key issues: oil, electricity, and the need to bring India's nuclear power program under
international norms and safeguards.
India now imports more than two-thirds of its oil. As the economy -- as its economy grows, which we're confident it
will, it will need even more oil. The increased demand from developing nations like India is one of the reasons the
global demand for oil has been rising faster than global supply. Rising demand relative to global supply leads to price
increases -- for all of us.
To meet the challenge here in America, I have proposed what's called an Advanced Energy Initiative to make this company
[sic] less reliant upon oil. As I said in the State of the Union, we got a problem: We're hooked on oil. And we need to
do something about it.
And so we're spending money on research and development to develop cleaner and more reliable alternatives to oil,
alternatives that will work, alternatives such as hybrid vehicles that will require much less gasoline, alternatives
such as new fuels to substitute for gasoline, and alternatives such as using hydrogen to power automobiles. We will
share these promising energy technologies with countries like India. And as we do so, it will help reduce stress on
global oil markets and move our world toward cleaner and more efficient uses of energy.
India's rising economy is also creating greater demand for electricity. Nuclear power is a clean and reliable way to
help meet this need. Nuclear power now accounts for nearly 3 percent of India's electricity needs, and India plans to
increase the figure by -- to 25 percent by 2050. And America wants to help.
My administration has announced a new proposal called the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. Under this partnership,
America will work with nations that have advanced civilian nuclear energy programs -- such as Great Britain, France,
Japan, and Russia -- to share nuclear fuel with nations like India that are developing civilian nuclear energy programs.
The supplier nations will collect the spent nuclear fuel. And the supplier nations will invest in new methods to
reprocess the spent nuclear fuel so that it can be used for advanced new reactors. The strategy will allow countries
like India to produce more electricity from nuclear power, it will enable countries like India to rely less on fossil
fuels, it will decrease the amount of nuclear waste that needs to be stored and reduce the risk of nuclear
proliferation.
To benefit from this initiative, India first needs to bring its civilian energy programs under the same international
safeguards that govern nuclear power programs in other countries. And India and the United States took a bold step
forward last summer when we agreed to a civil nuclear initiative that will provide India access to civilian nuclear
technology, and bring its civilian programs under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
This is not an easy decision for India, nor is it an easy decision for the United States, and implementing this
agreement will take time and it will take patience from both our countries. I'll continue to encourage India to produce
a credible, transparent, and defensible plan to separate its civilian and military nuclear programs. By following
through on our commitments, we'll bring India's civilian -- civil nuclear program into international mainstream, and
strengthen the bonds of trust between our two great nations.
We have an ambitious agenda with India. Our agenda is also practical. It builds on a relationship that has never been
better. India is a global leader, as well as a good friend, and I look forward to working with Prime Minister Singh to
address other difficult problems such as HIV/AIDS, pandemic flu, and the challenge posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions. My
trip will remind everybody about the strengthening of a important strategic partnership. We'll work together in
practical ways to promote a hopeful future for citizens in both our nations.
The second stop on my trip will be to Pakistan. Pakistan is a key ally in the war on terror. Pakistan is a nation of 162
million people. It has come a long way in a short time. Five years ago, Pakistan was one of only three nations that
recognized the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. That all changed after September the 11th. President Musharraf understood
that he had to make a fundamental choice for his people. He could turn a blind eye and leave his people hostage to
terrorists, or he could join the free world in fighting the terrorists. President Musharraf made the right choice, and
the United States of America is grateful for his leadership.
Within two days of the attack, the Pakistani government committed itself to stop al Qaeda operatives at its border,
share intelligence on terrorist activities and movements, and break off all ties with the Taliban government in Kabul if
it refused to hand over Bin Laden and the al Qaeda leadership. President Musharraf's decision to fight the terrorists
was made at great personal risk. He leads a country that the terrorists seek to use as a base of operations, and they
take advantage of every opportunity to create chaos and destabilize the country. The terrorists have tried to
assassinate President Musharraf on a number of occasions, because they know he stands in the way of their hateful vision
for his country. He is a man of courage, and I appreciate his friendship and his leadership.
Pakistan now has the opportunity to write a new chapter in its history, and the United States wants to build a broad and
lasting strategic partnership with the people of Pakistan. And in my meetings with President Musharraf, we'll be
discussing areas that are critical to the American-Pakistan relationship.
First, the United States and Pakistan will continue our close cooperation in confronting and defeating the terrorists in
the war on terror. Second, the United States and Pakistan understand that in the long run, the only way to defeat the
terrorists is through democracy.
Pakistan still has a distance to travel on the road to democracy, yet it has some fundamental institutions that a
democracy requires. Pakistan has a lively and generally free press. I'm confident I will hear from them on my trip to
Pakistan. (Laughter.) Occasionally, there's interference by security forces, but it's a strong press. Pakistanis are
free to criticize their government, and they exercise that right vigorously. There are a number of political parties and
movements that regularly challenge the government. President Musharraf remains committed to a moderate state that
respects the role of Islam in Pakistani society while providing an alternative to Islamic radicalism. The United States
will continue to work with Pakistan to strengthen the institutions that help guarantee civil liberties and help lay the
foundations for a democratic future for the Pakistani people.
The United States and Pakistan both want the elections scheduled for next year to be successful. This will be an
important test of Pakistan's commitment to democratic reform, and the government in Islamabad must ensure that these
elections are open and free and fair. The Pakistanis are taking this step toward democracy at a difficult time in their
history. There are determined enemies of freedom attacking from within. We understand this struggle; we understand the
pressure. And the United States will walk with them on their path to freedom and democracy.
The United States and Pakistan both want to expand opportunity for the Pakistani people. Opportunity starts with
economic growth, and that is why President Musharraf has made economic reform a priority for his administration. These
reforms have helped Pakistan's economy grow rapidly last year. There is strong economic vitality in that country, and we
will help Pakistan build on that momentum.
We're taking several steps to open up markets and expand trade. And these include efforts to conclude a bilateral
investment treaty that would establish clear and transparent rules to provide greater certainty and encourage foreign
direct investment. By fostering economic development and opportunity, we will reduce the appeal of radical Islam, and
demonstrate that America is a steadfast friend and partner of the Pakistani people.
The United States and Pakistan are working together to improve educational opportunities for the Pakistani people. Young
men in Pakistan need a real education that provides the skills required in the 21st-century workplace. Pakistan needs to
improve literacy for its women and help more Pakistani girls have the opportunity to go to school.
Last year, the United States provided $66 million to help improve Pakistani education, especially in the least developed
regions of the country. This is money well spent. We're glad to partner with the Pakistan government to help train
primary school teachers and administrators, and build new schools, and adapt existing ones so that young girls can
attend school. These funds also support the largest Fulbright program in the world -- an educational exchange that
brings Pakistani scholars to America and American scholars to Pakistan. By helping Pakistan increase the educational
opportunities for its people, we'll help them raise their standard of living, and help them marginalize the terrorists
and the extremists.
The Pakistani people saw America's commitment to their future when we responded in their hour of need. When a
devastating earthquake hit a remote area in the mountains of north Pakistan, it claimed more than 73,000 lives, and
displaced more than 2.8 million people from their homes. American relief workers were on the ground within 48 hours.
Since then, we've pledged more than a-half-a-billion dollars for relief and reconstruction, including $100 million in
private donations from our citizens. These funds have helped to build 228 tent schools, improve shelter for over half a
million people, and feed over a million folks. Our compassion is making a difference in the lives of the Pakistanis, and
it's making a difference in how they view America.
The terrorists have said that America is the Great Satan. Today, in the mountains of Pakistan, they call our Chinook
helicopters "angels of mercy." Across their country, the Pakistani people see the generous heart of America. Our
response has shown them that our commitments to Pakistan are real and lasting. We care about the people in that
important country. When they suffer, we want to help.
The great changes that are taking place inside India and Pakistan are also helping to transform the relationship between
these two countries. One encouraging sign came after the earthquake, when India offered assistance to Pakistan, and
President Musharraf accepted. India sent tents and blankets and food and medicine, and the plane that delivered the
first load of supplies was the first Indian cargo aircraft to land in Islamabad since the 1971 war. India and Pakistan
must take advantage of this opening to move beyond conflict and come together on other issues where they share common
interests.
Good relations with America can help both nations in their quest for peace. Not long ago, there was so much distrust
between India and Pakistan that when America had good relations with one, it made the other one nervous. Changing that
perception has been one of our administration's top priorities, and we're making good progress. Pakistan now understands
that it benefits when America has good relations with India. India understands that it benefits when America has good
relations with Pakistan. And we're pleased that India and Pakistan are beginning to work together to resolve their
differences directly.
India and Pakistan are increasing the direct links between their countries, including a rail line that has been closed
for four decades. Trade between India and Pakistan grew to more than $800 million from July of 2004 to July of 2005 --
nearly double the previous year. The governments of India and Pakistan are now engaged in dialogue about the difficult
question of Kashmir. For too long, Kashmir has been a source of violence and distrust between these two countries. But I
believe that India and Pakistan now have an historic opportunity to work toward lasting peace. Prime Minister Singh and
President Musharraf have shown themselves to be leaders of courage and vision. On my visit, I will encourage them to
address this important issue. America supports a resolution in Kashmir that is acceptable to both sides.
This is a sensitive time in South Asia. In Pakistan and other countries, images broadcast around the world have inflamed
passions, and these passions have been cynically manipulated to incite violence. America believes that people have the
right to express themselves in a free press. America also believes that others have the right to disagree with what's
printed in the free press, and to respond by organizing protests, so long as they protest peacefully. And when protests
turn violent, governments have an obligation to restore the rule of law, protect lives and property, and ensure that
diplomats who are serving their nations overseas are not harmed. We understand that striking the right balance is
difficult, but we must not allow mobs to dictate the future of South Asia.
In this vital region, the stakes are high and the opportunities are unprecedented. With the end of the Cold War and the
fall of the Taliban, more and more people are looking forward to a future of freedom. As freedom spreads, it's bringing
hope to hundreds of millions who know nothing but despair. And as freedom spreads, it's sweeping away old grievances,
and allowing people in Central Asia, and South Asia, and beyond to take their rightful place in the community of
nations.
This vision will take years to achieve, but we can proceed with confidence, because we know the power of freedom to
transform lives and cultures and overcome tyranny and terror. We can proceed with confidence because we have two
partners -- two strong partners -- in India and Pakistan.
Some people have said the 21st century will be the Asian century. I believe the 21st century will be freedom's century.
And together, free Asians and free Americans will seize the opportunities this new century offers and lay the foundation
of peace and prosperity for generations to come.
May God bless India and Pakistan. May God continue to bless the United States. (Applause.)
ENDS