DATE=3/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S / INDIA / PAKISTAN (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260182
BYLINE=KYLE KING
DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
says President Clinton will use his trip to South Asia
next week to urge a return to civilian rule in
Pakistan and controls on India's nuclear and missile
program. From the State Department, V-O-A's Kyle King
reports.
TEXT: Secretary of State Albright says the United
States regards the 1998 nuclear tests by India and
Pakistan as an historic mistake.
In a speech (to the Asia Society) outlining U-S goals
for the President's trip, Ms. Albright called nuclear
proliferation the number one U-S security concern.
/// ALBRIGHT ACT ///
For this reason, we must accept that significant
progress in this area is necessary before India
and the United States can realize fully the vast
potential of our relationship.
/// END ACT ///
Ms. Albright says overall U-S relations with India are
good, but she adds that more needs to be done to
reduce the threat of nuclear war. She also says the
Indian government should strengthen controls on the
export of weapons technology.
President Clinton's five-day visit to India will be
the first by a U-S president in more than two decades.
Ms. Albright says New Delhi's strained relations with
neighboring Pakistan will also be a key topic of
discussion.
The secretary says President Clinton decided to visit
Pakistan because the United States has important and
urgent interests there. But she says the visit is not
an endorsement of the military government, which
seized power last October.
/// 2ND ALBRIGHT ACT ///
And on one key issue, I want to leave no room
for doubt: In no way is this a decision to
endorse the military coup or government led by
General Musharraf. And no one should interpret
it as such.
/// END ACT ///
Ms. Albright also says the president has no intention
of trying to use the visit to mediate the long-running
territorial dispute over Kashmir. She is calling on
both sides to respect the "line of control," which
separates Indian and Pakistani forces that have fought
several wars over the region.
On the president's visit to Bangladesh, Ms. Albright
said the United States wants to support the
constructive role the government plays in
international affairs. She noted U-S investment in
Bangladesh is 30 times greater than it was three years
ago, and she says the country is on the verge of what
she calls a quantum leap forward.
The president departs for South Asia Saturday.
Secretary of State Albright will join him in India
following a two-day European conference in Venice,
Italy. (Signed)
NEB/KBK/ENE/PT/WTW
14-Mar-2000 16:38 PM EDT (14-Mar-2000 2138 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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