Oh boy! I loved India: Clinton

WASHINGTON, DEC. 29. The outgoing U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, gives pride of place to India as memories of his visit to the land of exotica still remain etched.

When asked by The New York Times about his favourite foreign trip, according to the text published by the White House, the first name to strike him after eight continuous years and innumerable foreign trips was the ``rising tiger of south Asia''. Other countries, including his mother's native, Ireland followed later.

Mr. Clinton said, ``Oh boy! that's really hard. I loved India. I liked China. The Vietnam thing was fine-but I suppose Ireland in 1995. I suppose, just because my mother's family is Irish and our oldest known homestead is in Roslea, just right on the border of northern Ireland and the Republic.''

Indo-U.S. relations are supposed to have improved a great deal after the charismatic U.S. President's historic trip to India in March alongwith his daughter Ms. Chelsea. The visit helped in removing prejudices of the cold war and post-Pokhran stress.

Mr. Clinton said the food he had at the Bukhara restaurant in Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi last March was probably one of the best meals he had during his eight years in office. In one of the last series of interviews, he gave to the American media before he lays down office in the next 25 days, Mr. Clinton said, ``I loved the Bukhara meal we had in Delhi.''

In the ``one of the best'' food category, he also listed a Mexican restaurant at Phoenix but could not name it. Ms. Hillary Clinton repented that she could not join the Presidential visit to India last March as she was held up in the election campaign. Addressing the Indian community here, she said she would visit India along with her husband at the first opportunity.

- UNI, PTI

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Section  : International
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