Bush bids adieu; proud of ties with India

Washington, Jan 16: Outgoing US President George W Bush delivered his last speech as US President on Thursday, Jan 15. "We opened a new historic and strategic partnership with India," Bush told officials of the State Department at Foggy Bottom.

The 34-year long nuclear isolation of India ended under Bush's Presidency and resulted in strengthening its strategic and business ties with India.

Mentioning some of the foreign policies, Bush said in the Middle East, the US stood with dissidents and young democracies.

"Sometimes that was not easy to do. But we stood strong with those young democracies. We outlined a vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," he said.

Bush Administration strengthened ties with Japan, South Korea and China.

"I'm not so sure if this is historically accurate, but we may be the only administration that has had really good ties with Japan, South Korea and China all at the same time," he said.

"We worked in a multilateral fashion to deal with issues like Iran and North Korea," he said.

Praising Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice for Presidential Policy in Africa, he said "I'm often asked, how come you, from Texas, care about Africa? And I remind people — I'm reminded of one of my first conversations with Condi. And she said, if I'm going to work with you, I want you to make sure you focus on Africa. She gets a lot of credit for the focus on Africa," he said. "I also acted on this timeless belief, to whom much is given, much is required. We have been given a lot in our country. And it's not only in our strategic interests that we deal with hunger and disease, it is in our moral interest that we do so, as well. He said in the Western Hemisphere, the US expanded trade and helped "our fellow democracies deliver prosperity and social justice to their people"

"And around the world, we built a coalition of more than 90 nations to fight terror and advance the cause of freedom in the great ideological struggle of our time," Bush said.

Bush claimed that his administration made alliances stronger, and the nation safer, and 'made the world freer'.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)