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India's Manmohan Singh Addresses Joint Session of U.S. Congress

19 July 2005

Prime minister says India, United States must fight terrorism, nurture democracy

By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States and India have a common interest in nurturing democratic reforms in the developing world and protecting the institutions of democracy from the threat of global terrorism, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress July 19.

“As democracies, we must work together to create a world in which democracies can flourish. This is particularly important because we are today faced with new threats, such as global terrorism, to which democracies are particularly vulnerable,” Singh said.

Singh said that terrorists exploit the inherent openness of democratic societies in an attempt to destroy their freedoms, and he dismissed the notion that there can be any legitimate justification for these acts.

“We know that those who resort to terror often cloak it in the garb of real or imaginary grievances,” he said.  “We must categorically affirm that no grievance can justify resort and recourse to terror.”

He said that democratic nations like the United States and India must address the terrorist threat without abandoning their openness and their commitment to pluralism, individual freedom and tolerance of dissent.

Singh also said that democratic nations have an obligation to help countries that are working to establish democratic institutions.

“Just as developed industrial countries assist those that are less developed to accelerate the pace of their social and economic development, democratic societies with established institutions must help those that want to strengthen democratic values and institutions,” he said.

He added that he and President Bush have agreed on a global initiative aimed at enhancing countries’ democratic capacities in areas such as elections administration, governance, judicial reform and protection of human rights.

Singh spoke about India’s efforts to modernize its economy, saying that economic reforms over the past two decades have freed Indian enterprise from government control, stimulated entrepreneurial activity and opened the country to growing flows of trade, capital and technology.  He said that the changes may have seemed slow to outside observers, but that they were “durable and irreversible.”

He particularly welcomed U.S. investment in India, saying that it is beneficial to both countries.  “American investments in India, especially in the new technology areas, will help American companies to reduce costs and become more competitive globally,” he said. “Equally, India's earnings from these investments will lead to increased purchases from the United States.”

He invited U.S. companies to continue exploring investment opportunities in India, particularly in infrastructure development.

Singh is leading a delegation of Indian officials and businessmen for three days of discussions in Washington.  Following a meeting with President Bush July 18, the two leaders announced several new bilateral initiatives in health, science, technology, trade, economic development, agricultural production, energy cooperation, disaster relief and strategic partnership.

For additional information, see U.S.-India Summit:  Strengthening A Global Partnership.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)