Singh, Bush skip Pak from breakfast menu

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's breakfast meeting with US President George W Bush on Tuesday morning was a 'substantive, yet relaxed interaction', Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said in New York.

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In a significant departure from earlier years, Pakistan was not the centerpiece of the bilateral talks. In fact, the issue only came up briefly when Bush expressed his appreciation for the ongoing peace initiatives between India and Pakistan and Singh, in turn, assured him that India is committed to peace, with the proviso that Pakistan deliver on its promise to end cross-border terrorism.

Much of the discussion centered around Indo-US relations, with both sides appreciating the remarkable progress made in that direction and vowing to further accelerate the process.

In this connection, both Singh and Bush welcomed the recent finalization of Phase I of the NSSP and indicated that this was merely a beginning, which would herald a new era of cooperation in the fields of high-tech and trade between the two nations.

At the breakfast meeting, hosted by President Bush in his suite at the Waldorf Astoria, the American side included Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, former ambassador to India and at present a member of the National Security Council dealing with Iraq Robert Blackwill.

India was represented by External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, National Security Adviser J N Dixit, Ambassador Ronen Sen and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.

At the outset, Singh thanked Bush for taking time off from his busy campaign schedule to host the breakfast, which it is being noted is one of the very few substantive bilateral interactions the US president will have with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA.

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The two sides discussed in depth the question of global terrorism, and reaffirmed their commitment to fighting the scourge in all its manifestations. Singh, in this context, extended his condolences to the US for the beheading of one of its citizens in Iraq earlier this week.

Bush was hugely appreciative of the contributions made by Indian Americans in all areas of endeavour in the United States, and described to Singh a moving experience when he had received the parents of Kalpana Chawla, the Indian-American astronaut who died when space shuttle Challenger disintegrated during descent.

Interestingly, though Singh had made clear before his departure from India that he would make a strong bid for a permanent seat for India on the UN Security Council, the subject did not come up during his meeting with Bush.

When asked about it, Foreign Secretary Saran seemed a touch defensive, merely remarking that the US has consistently recognized India as a global power.

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