Douglas Alexander: “I am here to support the Lugar-Biden legislation that would implement changes in law necessary to secure our Nation's…”

“I am here to support the Lugar-Biden legislation that would implement changes in law necessary to secure our Nation's civil-nuclear agreement with India. This is very important to our future for two reasons: No. 1, India is one of the great powers of the 21st century, and this agreement represents an important step toward a new strategic partnership between our two countries; and No. 2, nuclear power is a source of clean energy that is good for us, and it is good for India. As we look at the beginning of this new century, we have witnessed the emergence of three great powers or influences in the world--three major shifts that will help define the many years to come. One is the rise of China. One is the emergence of a new political Islam. And the third is the arrival of India as a great power. I asked Secretary Rice about these three new forces shaping the coming century at the Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the United States-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, and she agreed with my assessment. And if you look at those three emerging forces, one presents the greatest opportunity for us to be a partner, and that one is India: India, the largest democracy in the world; India, where English is an official language; India, where the legal system, like ours, is descended from that of the British; and India, where a diverse ethnic and religious population has joined together to form one nation with a democratic government.”