Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a closer security relationship between his country and the United States on Wednesday, in an address to the U.S. Congress stressing the importance of warming ties between the two countries.
He dedicated much of the speech to the importance of fighting terrorism, thanking Congress for U.S. support after a Pakistan-based military group's rampage in Mumbai killed 166 people in 2008.
"The fight against terrorism has to be fought at many levels. And the traditional tools of military, intelligence or diplomacy alone would not be able to win this fight," Modi told a rare joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives.
"We have both lost civilians and soldiers in combating it. The need of the hour is for us to deepen our security cooperation," Modi said.
He leavened the speech to lawmakers, the first such address by an international leader since Pope Francis' in September, with jokes about Congress' bitter partisan divide and yoga. But Modi used it to make serious points about India's neighbour and arch-rival Pakistan and regional concerns about Chinese expansionism.
"I commend the members of the U.S. Congress for sending a clear message to those who preach and practice terrorism for political gains," he said, not mentioning either country by name.
Modi was speaking on the U.S. leg of an international tour. On Tuesday (June7) , he met with President Barack Obama at the White House, where the two leaders said India agreed to work toward joining the Paris Agreement on climate change this year and discussed security and cybersecurity issues.
Meanwhile, Mexico supports India's efforts to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Wednesday, in a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic push to end his country's isolation over its nuclear arms programme.
India's bid to join the NSG is due to be discussed at a plenary session of the 48-member group in Vienna on Thursday (June 9).
"Mexico recognizes India's interest in joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Pena Nieto said, with Modi at his side at the Mexican president's Los Pinos residence. "As a country we have a positive and constructive backing for this."
India is also poised to join the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) after talks this week between Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.
Mexico supported India's membership because of Modi's "commitment to the agenda of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," Pena Nieto said.
New Delhi's bid for full membership, if granted, would tip the balance of power in South Asia against its arch-rival Pakistan, whose own application has been backed by China, despite questions over its proliferation record.
Pena Nieto's support is a boost for Modi, but he must still win China's support to seal India's membership of the non-proliferation body. The NSG holds its annual meeting in South Korea later this month.
Mexico's backing represents a historic policy shift for the country, which has held a firm position on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation for decades.
One of Mexico's crowning diplomatic achievements was the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco, which declared Latin America and the Caribbean a zone free of nuclear weapons.
India made its formal bid for membership last month after winning a waiver in 2008 allowing it to trade in commercial nuclear technology.
