NEW DELHI, Nov 8 � US President Barack Obama today declared support for India�s bid for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council, renewed a call to Pakistan to bring 26/11 terrorists to justice and eased high-tech exports to India, which make part of New Delhi�s wishlist whose realisation would not only bring the two countries closer but would have profound implications for the global order, reports IANS.
The world�s two largest democracies sought to take their ties to a new level by agreeing to work together to deny terrorists �safe havens� in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region with visiting US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiling a slew of pacts ranging from clean energy to health and collaborating in agriculture and food security to spark �an evergreen revolution�.
The big announcement � long speculated in India � about support for the UN permanent seat for New Delhi, was the crowning moment of Obama�s four-day maiden visit to the country and came amid ringing applause in the Central Hall of the Indian Parliament.
�We welcome India as it prepares to take a seat at the United Nations Security Council,� said Obama in his address while lauding India�s growing role in leading global decision-making bodies.
�And as two global leaders, the United States and India can partner for global security, especially as India serves on the Security Council over the next two years,� he said in a reference to India beginning its two-year stint in the UNSC as a non-permanent member on January 1, 2011.
�Indeed, the just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate,� he said.
�That is why I can say today in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member,� he said to a loud applause from 790 MPs from both its Houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
�For in Asia and around the world, India is not simply emerging; India has already emerged. And it is my firm belief that the relationship between the US and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century,� said Obama.
Obama began his day of back-to-back official engagements this morning with a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan and a visit to Rajghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi whom Obama has described as his hero and an inspiration.
The US president then headed for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that focused on adding more economic substance and strategic heft to the burgeoning relationship between the world�s two largest democracies.
The talks were summed up by Obama later at a press conference at Hyderabad House where he said that �ours is not ordinary relationship� and such was the depth and sweep of bilateral cooperation that �I cannot remember an occasion when we have agreed to so many new partnership across so many areas as we have done during my visit�.
Before the press conference, the two leaders held talks in a restricted format for at least an hour before the delegation-level talks that lasted around 80-90 minutes. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao were present during restricted talks.
