Kirk Watson: “I thank Congressman Lantos for yielding. The United States has few, if any, better friends than India. And I feel…”

“I thank Congressman Lantos for yielding. The United States has few, if any, better friends than India. And I feel strongly that the United States and India are destined to be great partners as they seek to meet the challenges of the 21st century. One of these challenges is the need to develop new sources of energy. The Indian economy is growing by leaps and bounds, offering new opportunities not only for India itself but for India's partners as well. India will need to develop tens of thousands of megawatts of new power capacity in the next few years to meet this need and lift India's poorest from poverty. But there is another 21st century challenge that India and the United States must meet together, and that is the challenge of nuclear proliferation, particularly the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of extremist governments and terrorist movements. India is, and has been, a trusted partner in meeting this challenge. As much as any ally of the United States, India knows the dangers posed by terrorism. We were so sadly reminded of this again, only a few weeks ago, when extremists murdered over 200 Indian commuters in Mumbai. My sincerest sympathies go out to the people of Mumbai and all of India. Together, I have no doubt we will eventually defeat the ideologies that spark such terror attacks as well as defeat the poverty and marginalization which fuels it. I have no doubt that India is a reliable steward of nuclear technology.…”