President Clinton welcomed India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
to the White House September 15 and praised his commitment to a
moratorium on nuclear testing.
India and the United States "have forged a bond" arising from a common
commitment to freedom and democracy, Clinton said in remarks on the
South Lawn at the arrival ceremony welcoming Vajpayee to the White
House.
"Our challenge is to turn our common bond into common achievements,"
Clinton said.
"We will discuss our common desire to seek peace through dialogue in
South Asia. We will talk about our common interests in slowing the
spread of nuclear weapons, and the broader consequences of
proliferation in South Asia," Clinton said. "At the same time,"
Clinton added, "we welcome India's commitment to forgo nuclear testing
until the treaty banning all nuclear testing comes into force."
"This is a time of new hope and new opportunities in Indo-American
ties," Vajpayee said.
The two leaders and their top foreign policy advisors then held talks
for half an hour in the Oval Office and with an expanded group for
some forty minutes more, said Bruce Riedel, Special Assistant to the
President for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs.
The official state dinner for Vajpayee will be held at the White House
Sunday, September 17.
