US team meets leaders, talks Indo-US cooperation

He also made special mention of the cooperation between India and US soon after the disaster. According to Frist, Indo-US ties are on a strong footing and US President George W. Bush has the ‘‘complete support’’ to carry forward the process of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership.

On Iraq, the delegation felt that New Delhi should consider participating in the conduct of elections there. ‘‘India has had great success in conducting elections. It has the expertise and can consider participating in the process of holding elections in Iraq,’’ said Frist.

While India had ruled out sending troops to Iraq despite initial requests by the US, Frist said taking part in the conduct of elections in Iraq would be a ‘‘non-military’’ involvement. And if India could not assist in the January 30 elections, he added, it could consider doing so for the polls proposed in October for the ratification of Iraq’s Constitution. According to Frist, the US expected ‘‘robust participation’’ by Iraqis in at least 15 of the 18 provinces and underlined that the elections there would be credible.

Meanwhile, former US ambassador to India Robert Blackwill, who is here on a separate visit, said in an interaction organised by the CII that a US decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan was a definite cause for concern. ‘‘Why should Washington transfer these fighters to Pakistan when the country has not stopped sponsoring cross border terrorism?’’ he said, adding: ‘‘Such a sale will compromise India’s air power superiority…the F-16 models that Pakistan is seeking are nuclear-capable models. Could these not be used against India?’’ Blackwill emphasised that India is and will remain a nuclear power.