[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2006)]
[Pages 374-375]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With American and Indian Business Leaders in 
New Delhi, India

March 2, 2006

    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. Mr. President, distinguished 
journalists, ladies and gentlemen, I've already welcomed President 
George Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush on this, their first visit to India. I 
would now like to welcome the U.S. CEOs who have traveled to India for 
this historic meeting.
    The President and I have just concluded our official discussions, 
and I'm sure he shares my--[inaudible]--executive officers. The 
establishment of this group last year was an important initiative stated 
by the President--[inaudible]--in which the private sectors of our two 
countries could interact and build a roadmap for promoting cooperation. 
I would like to thank the two cochairs, Mr. William Harrison and Mr. 
Ratan Tata, and their colleagues for the excellent work done in relaying 
the report which they will now present.

[[Page 375]]

    I have been briefed on the main recommendations, and I am very happy 
to say that some of the recommendations are already reflected in the 
decisions which the President and I have issued today. I will have more 
to say on other recommendations a little later. I now invite President 
Bush to share his thoughts and initiate the discussion. You have the 
floor, sir.
    President Bush. Well, thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. I want to thank 
the CEOs for joining us from both India and the United States. Thank you 
all for coming.
    The Prime Minister and I have had some really constructive dialog, 
starting in Washington, DC, and then here in New Delhi. I would 
characterize our relationship as warm and results oriented. Warm because 
he's a humble man who cares deeply about the people of India, and he's a 
good thinker. He can see beyond the horizon, which is necessary.
    I say ``results oriented'' because it's one thing to shake hands and 
smile for the cameras; it's another thing to actually deliver results on 
behalf of our people. I am a firm believer that relations with India are 
important to the United States. It's important for the people of the 
United States; it's important for people who want to work in the United 
States. And to the extent that we are able to achieve mutually 
beneficial goals, to eliminate barriers, and to hear from people who are 
actually on the frontlines creating jobs, I think is useful for those of 
us in government.
    So I'm looking forward to hearing some more on this. One of the 
action steps that we agreed to take last July was to set up this forum. 
And, Mr. Prime Minister, it's good to see things happening. It's good to 
see results. And this is a result of an historic meeting, set of 
meetings.
    And so I want to thank you for your hospitality. Thank you all for 
coming. I'm looking forward to hearing what folks have to say. And once 
you say it, once we figure out kind of the roadblocks for further 
development, you have my commitment that we will work to remove those 
roadblocks.
    Thanks for having me.

Note: The President spoke at 11:38 a.m. in the Hyderabad House. Prime 
Minister Singh referred to William B. Harrison, Jr., chairman of the 
board, JP Morgan Chase & Co.; and Ratan N. Tata, chairman, Tata Group. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.