Political Quotes

“I want to take a few moments to comment on a historic event that will take place tomorrow in this Chamber. As you know, the Prime Minister of India, the Honorable Narasimha Rao, will deliver the first joint-session address by an Indian leader in more than 9 years, and the first to address the Congress by any foreign dignitary during the Clinton administration. In 1947, India became the world's largest democracy when it gained independence from Great Britain. During the first four decades of independence, the Government of India has tried to meet the needs of India's diverse cultures, an enormous population of approximately 885 million people now. I realize India still faces serious problems with Pakistan over the nuclear issue, the problems with the Kashmir and Punjab provinces, but I believe Prime Minister Rao's visit to our country is part of the democratic process whereby our two governments will make every effort to resolve those differences and promote economic growth and prosperity which now approaches approximately $6 billion worth of trade between our two countries. I know our colleagues join me in welcoming Prime Minister Rao to Washington, and we all look forward to hearing his vision of the future of United States-India relations.”