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Obama backs India for UN seat

NEW DELHI: If there were clouds of scepticism hovering over the Obama visit as the "what's in it for us" question grew louder, the US president dispersed them on Monday by endorsing India's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat and slamming Pakistan for promoting terror havens on its soil. "I can say today -- in years ahead, I look forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member", Barack Obama said in his address to Parliament in an emphatic endorsement of India's bid for a UNSC seat. Read: Text of President Barack Obama's address to India's parliament On Pakistan, the US president ended the ambiguity on Islamabad's use of terror against India that had marked his India tour so far. "We will continue to insist with Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice," he said. While the UNSC promise may take a while to materialise, the audience in Parliament's Central Hall erupted in spontaneous celebration. They immediately recognised it as the defining moment of his visit. The tough words on Pakistan drew similar applause. Read: Text of PM's statement at press conference with Obama Add to these the decision to lift controls on transfer of technology, the promise to help India join other crucial groups like the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, Missile Technology Control Regime and, the tone of a "partnership between equals", and the visit marks another milestone in Indo-US ties. Clearly, Obama had reserved his best for last. In his address to MPs, in which he gave a glimpse of his ortatorial prowess, he silenced doubters wondering if America's India affair that began under Bill Clinton at the turn of the last millennium and flowered under George W Bush, was flagging. Posing the question "what's the next step" in India-US ties. Obama provided some of the answers, outlining a "global partnership for global challenges". He stressed that the US will not merely cheer India's rise from the sidelines but will stand "shoulder-to-shoulder". Read: Text of India-US joint statement From the moment he entered the central hall around 5.28pm to his slow paced exit, Obama received no less than 36 rounds of applause. But none resounded more loudly and longer than when he expressed US support to India's ambition of a place at the UN high table. Having twice on Monday pointed to the significance of making his India visit the longest in his presidency and also underlining that he was doing so early in his term, Obama outlined his vision for a partnership that seems to be breaking new ground on contentious issues like nuclear non-proliferation that separated the two nations for decades. There remain points of divergence on trade and other issues and Obama chose the occasion to speak "frankly" about India's reluctance to stand up on issues like democracy in Myanmar where New Delhi has adopted an increasingly pragmatic approach. The criticism read like a reminder that with great power aspirations come responsibilities that all those who want to be part of the new UNSC have to be mindful about. The Indian response was obviously welcoming even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the joint press conferenc earlier in the day made it plain that while India was not scared of discussing the "K-word", it could not be expected to hold talks so long as Pakistan did not move away from "terror-induced coercion" to dismantle the terror machine operating from its soil. Singh's tough talk came just after Obama had, for the second time in his visit, stressed that India and Pakistan needed to reduce tensions and resolve their disputes. Singh was uncharacteristically bold also when he rebuted the entrenched perception in the US that outsourcing meant jobs lost in America. "India is not in the business of stealing jobs from the United States of America," he said and added that he saw American investment as essential in India's bid to pull millions out of poverty. Infrastructure and hi-tech were the keys that US investment could provide. But Singh's was hardly a jarring note. Like Obama, he swore by the need for the two democracies to work together. Together they outtlined the scope of the clasp that US and India have entered into and how it was truely a win-win situation. While the PM described Obama as a sincere friend, and Obama returned the compliment by speaking of Singh's economic vision, the agreements in furthering defence, civil nuclear energy, agriculture, weather forecasting, a new "evergreen" revolution, health and clean energy speak of the increased momentum in ties.

                                                                                                               
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