Vajpayee for redoubling Indo-US efforts to fight terrorism

Stating that in India’s neighbourhood "religious war has not just been fashioned into, it has been proclaimed to be, an instrument of State policy", Vajpayee said, "Distance offers no insulation. It should not cause complacency," as "no region is a greater source of terrorism than our neighbourhood."

"They wish to show that a multi-religious society cannot exist. They pursue a task which they are doomed to fail," said Vajpayee, the third Indian Prime Minister to address the Congress.

Pointing out that no country had faced as ferocious an attack of terrorist violence as India over the past two decades, Vajpayee said, "The evil of terrorism cannot succeed. But even in failing, it could inflict untold sufferings."

"That is why the US and India have begun to deepen their cooperation for combating terrorism," he said, adding, "We must redouble these efforts."

During his twenty-minutes speech, Vajpayee proposed to host in New Delhi a comprehensive global dialogue on development and spoke of the strength of Indian economy, the process of liberalisation, the IT revolution and the situation in the Asian region.

Admitting that security issues were casting a shadow on Indo-US relationship, he, however, said, "I believe this is unnecessary. We have much in common and no clash of interests".

Without making any mention of CTBT, the Prime Minister said, "We both share a commitment to ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons. We have both declared voluntary moratoriums on testing."

India, he said, "understands your concern (on nuclear issue). We do not wish to unravel your non-proliferation efforts. We wish you to understand our security concerns".

Referring to concern expressed in the Congress over the future contours of Asia, Vajpayee said, "We seek an Asia where power does not threaten stability and security. We do not want the domination of some to crowd out the space for others. We must create an Asia where cooperative rather than aggressive assertion of national self-interests defines behaviour among nations."