National
Fernandes leaves for the U.S.
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 15. Accompanied by senior officials of his Ministry, the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, left for the United States today as part of a week-long tour to three countries. On his way back, Mr. Fernandes will stopover in London where he might meet senior British policy-makers, including the Defence Secretary, Geoffrey Hoon. In between, the Minister will also visit Canada but no substantial official engagements have been firmed up so far.
Official sources said Mr. Fernandes would have discussions with senior American policy makers and officials on issues relating to defence cooperation and the current scenario in the subcontinent. Among others, he is scheduled to interact with the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice.
The intention was to maintain the tempo of terrorism and security-related dialogue with Washington which received an impetus recently with the arrival of Mr. Rumsfeld here. This was followed by a meeting of the Defence Policy Group, the first in four years. Mr. Fernandes' visit, at the invitation of Mr. Rumsfeld, was aimed at furthering this qualitative change in the field of defence cooperation.
Apart from furthering military ties, the relationship between India and Pakistan would be in the focus, especially during the interaction with the media. Mr. Fernandes is expected to reiterate New Delhi's views that the promises made by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, must be translated into action. He will point out that the current build-up on the borders was a response to activities from the other side, culminating on the attack on Parliament, and that India, now, wanted a permanent solution.
While conceding the inevitability of disputes dogging international relations, the Minister is expected to cite New Delhi's ties with Beijing. Though progress is slow, headway has been made in solving the Sino-Indian border dispute without causing tensions on the ground. India's desire to develop ties with Pakistan in a similar vein is likely to be highlighted.
Considering the composition of the delegation, discussions on sourcing military hardware from the U.S. is also on the cards. Though Mr. Fernandes has categorically denied that he is going with a ``shopping list'', he had stated that Washington had been apprised of India's interest in some hardware and hoped that their procurement would be speeded up. The officials accompanying him include the Defence Secretary, Yogendra Narain, and the Additional Secretary, Defence Production, Dhirendera Singh.
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