SPEECH BY SHRI K R NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, WHILE ACCEPTING THE CREDENTIALS FROM MR. RICHARD F CELESTE, AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE OF THE USA TO INDIA

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 28, 1997

Excellency,

It is with great pleasure that I receive your Credentials accrediting you as the Ambassador of the United States of America to India. On behalf of the people and the Government of India, I extend a warm welcome to you, together with my good wishes for the success of your tenure.

Your arrival synchronizes with the process of the "intensified dialogue" and interaction between our two countries. The meeting in September between Prime Minister Gujral and President Clinton paved the way for a deeper understanding between our two countries. We look forward to the forthcoming visit of President Clinton which, I am sure, will provide a new impetus to our bilateral relations and to our cooperation in international affairs.

The proposed exchange of other high-level visits between our two countries is bound to take our cooperation to a higher level. In this context we welcome the recent talks with the US Secretary of State in New Delhi which enabled us to share our perspectives with candour and in depth.

The edifice of Indo-US relations rests on the foundation of our common commitment to democracy, pluralism and basic human values. Our cooperation is marked by a many sided and expanding network of economic, cultural, academic, scientific and people-to-people ties.

As our largest trading partner and the single largest source of foreign private investment, the US plays an important role in our economic growth.

Indo-US bilateral partnership, we believe, can make a contribution to international cooperation and to peace and stability in the world. Our countries can effectively cooperate in dealing with such global concerns as health care, environmental protection and the elimination of drug trafficking.

Both our countries believe that international terrorism is a scourge of our times. It is India's conviction that while maintaining and preserving our democratic set up and safeguarding the rights and freedoms of our people, we bear the primary responsibility of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual society and nation. In this we expect the goodwill and understanding of friendly countries with pluralistic and democratic societies like our own.

Mr. Ambassador, you arrive in our country as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee year of our Independence. With our shared commitment to democracy and to basic human values there can be no doubt that India and the US will continue to play an important role in shaping a system of global cooperation in the years ahead.

Your Excellency will, I am sure, make a significant contribution to this process and in further strengthening of our bilateral relations.

Thank you