Frank Pallone: “I wanted to take this time to talk about some important developments in the relationship between the United States and…”

“I wanted to take this time to talk about some important developments in the relationship between the United States and India. In the past few weeks, the headlines from South Asia have been dominated by the news from India's neighbor Pakistan, where a military coup has deposed the nation's civilian prime minister. This was obviously an important and very disturbing development, one which has been condemned by me and many of my colleagues here in Congress. Unfortunately, there is often a tendency to lump India and Pakistan together, to see all developments in South Asia as a function of the conflicts between India and Pakistan. In fact, Mr. Speaker, what we now see in South Asia are two nations moving in very different directions. While Pakistan is mired in military coups and economic collapse, India sticks to the path of democracy and economic reform. We must consider India, and take it seriously on its own terms, as the world's largest democracy, the second most populous nation, an important regional player in Asia in its own right, a huge and growing market for American trade and investment, a potential partner on security issues and the fight against terrorism, and as a country with the great potential for cooperation in such areas as environmental protection, energy efficiency, and infrastructure development.”