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Indian official in US for talks with Obama team
Detroit News.Net
Sunday 30th November, 2008
In the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, India’s Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon is to hold talks with key figures of the Barack Obama transition team in the US on Monday.
While Mr Menon’s trip to the US was intended as a familiarization tour, Menon is likely to meet influential figures in the transition team to discuss strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the US.
Straight after the Mumbai terror attacks,
Obama was quick to react and was in constant touch with the Bush administration over latest updates.
Obama called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday night to offer condolences and underlined his support for India in the fight against terror.
Obama, who is monitoring the situation from his home in Chicago, has praised India's resilience, saying: “These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy.The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks, and defeating their hate-filled ideology.”
Obama has recently articulated his new approach to the war on terror that involves ending violence and instability in Afghanistan by getting Pakistan to focus on its western borders.
Obama's plan may also include an activist US role in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute so that Pakistan can single-mindedly focus on militants fomenting violence in Afghanistan.
This approach has caused some disquiet in India.
In an interview ahead of his election as the 44th President of the US, Obama indicated his desire to appoint a special envoy on Kashmir.
India has made it clear many a time that Kashmir is a bilateral issue that is being discussed by India and Pakistan in the framework of the composite dialogue and has objected to any perceived third-party intervention.
Menon is likely to reinforce this view when he meets key figures associated with the foreign policy in the Obama team.
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