Patil calls on India, US to work together for world peace

NEW DELHI - President Pratibha Patil has said both the US and India have a profound responsibility to work together for peace, stability and security in the world.

In her speech at a State banquet hosted in honour of U.S President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, Patil said there were many ties that bound the two nations together.

“Nearly three million Indian people in the United States act as a bridge of friendship, including over 100,000 Indian students in the United States, who along with the growing number of young Americans coming to India, are sowing the seeds of future partnerships. Our enterprises, scientists, engineers, technologists and academics are creating partnerships that generate hope for the future,” she added.

“We have enormous potential to work together for a sustainable and inclusive global economic development, to address the challenges of infrastructure, clean energy, food security and health security, and educate and empower the youth, especially our women, for the responsibilities of the new era,” she said.

“The two nations are well placed to harness the power of innovation, not only for technological leadership and global competitiveness, but also as a tool for economic empowerment and social transformation,” she added.

Patil expressed her pleasure about the initiatives announced which will not benefit only people of the two nations but also fulfil responsibility to humankind.

“We have the humility to know that we do not have all the answers, but we have the strength of our values and the benefit of our experience to make our own modest contribution to this cause,” she said.

“We must continue our joint efforts to reform global institutions to reflect contemporary realities, and increase their effectiveness in meeting current challenges, she added.

This is a time of great challenges in the world, but never has the opportunity been greater, the environment better, and the need more urgent for our two countries to work together and lead global efforts to seek a safer, more prosperous and more sustainable future, full of goodwill for this world.

Referring to the civil nuclear initiative, President Patil said: “It is an instrument and a symbol of transformed relations.”

“The historic civil nuclear initiative is an instrument and a symbol of our transformed relations. But, across virtually every field of human endeavour, we have explored new frontiers and redefined the paradigm of co-operation,” she added. (ANI)