Washington: Welcoming the State Visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the US Senate on Saturday passed a unanimous resolution saying that India and the United States can together make "enormous contributions" in addressing the challenges of the 21st century.
Introduced by Senator Christopher Dodd, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, and co-sponsored by as many as 18 other Senators, the resolution said the Senate "believes that together, the governments of India and the US can bring immense benefits to their people and make enormous contributions to addressing the global challenges of the 21st
century."
A similar resolution was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives last week.
The Senate resolution is considered to be significant
as it was passed during the course of a rare weekend meeting
of the US Senate which discussed the issue of health insurance
reform.
"Warmly welcoming Prime Minister of Dr India Manmohan
Singh, on his official state visit," the Senate said, adding
it looks forward to the continuing progress in relations
between India and the United States.
A strong relationship between the people and
governments of the United States and India, based on mutual
trust and respect, will enable India and the US to more
closely collaborate across a broad spectrum of interests, such
as global peace and prosperity, counter-terrorism, defence,
nonproliferation, economic prosperity, energy and climate
change, education, scientific research, outer space, public
health, and agriculture, it said.
Acknowledging the significant cooperation between the
two countries, the resolution said India serves as a pivotal
and effective partner in ensuring international peace and
security and is the third largest contributor of personnel to
United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Noting that India is the world's largest democracy,
embracing and upholding fundamental liberties and freedoms,
justice, and the rule of law, the resolution said the 2009
parliamentary elections were the largest democratic election
in the world till date.
It also appreciated the contributions of Americans of
Indian descent and desires closer relations between the people
of the US and the people of India.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 22:33