Terrorism tops agenda in SM Krishna-Hillary Clinton talks

New Delhi, Jul 19: In the first joint statement by India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her diplomatic visit to India, both parties expressed satisfaction at the diplomatic dialogues between the countries.

Clinton said that counter terrorism featured prominently in the agenda for talks and stated that America is supportive in India's fight against terror especially in the aftermath of the deadly Mumbai terror attacks on Jul 13. She said, "we are deepening and expanding efforts on counter terrorism & maritime security."

Krishna, in his statement, also mentioned the US' stance on the fight against terror and expressed hope on the peace dialogue between India and Pakistan. He highlighted in his meet with Clinton how Indian IT companies are contributing to US companies; also on focus was the plight of Tri Valley university students who had to face some harrowing times in the US.

Speaking on the deadly Mumbai blasts, Clinton commented, "We pledge full support to India in fight against terror, it is also our fight against terrorism and extremism." On Pakistan's attitude on terror and related activities, she added, "We cannot tolerate safe haven to terrorists anywhere, it is in the interest of Pakistan itself to act against terrorism."

Referring to India as a global and regional leader, Clinton said that the only unresolved issue in the talks is the civil nuclear agreement and said, "US looks forward to India ratifying the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) before this year end."

OneIndia News