WASHINGTON – Setting the stage for a quick swing through South Asia next week, President Bush urged Americans on Wednesday to balance the loss of jobs through outsourcing to India with the U.S. gains from its rapidly growing economy.
India’s middle class now numbers 300 million, Bush noted, and was hungry for goods, from washing machines to jetliners. And he said he was intent on fostering even closer economic ties to build business for U.S. companies.
For instance, Whirlpool, cited by Bush, makes washing machines in the U.S. and India and is the market leader there. And Bush noted that Air India has ordered 68 new planes from Boeing in a deal valued at more than $11 billion.
“India’s growth is creating new opportunities for our businesses and farmers and workers,” Bush said, reiterating his call for new education initiatives at home “to make sure that our workers are skilled for the jobs of the 21st century.”
Still, the U.S. Commerce Department reports America buys more goods from India than vice versa. Last year, the U.S. trade deficit with India was $10.8 billion.
The president will also stop briefly in neighboring Pakistan, where he said he hopes to help bridge the deep divide between the long-standing bitter rivals, both now nuclear powers.
“Good relations with America can help both nations in their quest for peace,” Bush told the Asia Society, offering a sweeping preview of his trip.
It will be Bush’s first visit to either India or Pakistan. And it will be a visit closely watched at home and abroad.
“It’s long, long overdue,” said A.K. Mago, founder of the Greater Dallas Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
The last president to visit India was Bill Clinton in 2000 – and before him, Jimmy Carter in 1978.
In South Asia, Bush said he would also talk with Indian and Pakistani leaders about terrorism, energy, bird flu and other issues.
In India, Bush said he would pursue ongoing discussions about the U.S.-India partnership announced last summer during the White House visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to develop more nuclear power in India, which now relies heavily on dirty coal and imported oil for most of its energy.
The agreement, which still must be approved by Congress, requires India to separate its military and civilian nuclear programs for international monitoring, a process that has proven expensive and time-consuming for India. And U.S. and Indian officials were pressing ahead with negotiations that could lead to a breakthrough before Bush arrives in New Delhi.
Both Bush and Indian officials have urged patience in implementing what Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen has called a “unique” agreement for his country, which began its nuclear development 50 years ago.
“India and the United States have overlapping, or converging, security interests,” Sen. told reporters Tuesday at the National Press Club, “ranging from counterterrorism to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, from protecting sea lanes to fighting piracy, from natural disaster relief to peacekeeping.”
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PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): BUSH
AP-NY-02-22-06 1933EST
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