We stand with India in fight against terrorism: US

Condemning Delhi serial blasts, US said terrorism will be high on agenda when Manmohan Singh meets President Bush on Sept 25.

Condemning the serial blasts that rocked New Delhi over the weekend killing 24 people, the United States on Monday said terrorism will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets President George W Bush later this month.

The Prime Minister, who will go to the United Nations for attending the General Assembly, will meet Bush at the White House on September 25.

“We were distressed to see the terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in India this weekend. We obviously stand with the Indians in trying to fight against terrorism and extremists, and we would help them in any way that we can to fight back against them,” White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said.

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When asked whether the President will discuss the issue of terrorism with Singh, she said: “Absolutely”.

“And I know that he and the prime minister will talk about it when he’s here,” Perino said.

During their meeting, the two leaders may sign the Indo-US nuclear deal if it is approved by then.

The senior White House official also said she believed that the latest developments on the global economy will be discussed at the United Nations with world leaders, including India.

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“I think there is no doubt that the way that our system — our financial system works in the world now, that everything is much more globalised, and they are dependent on one other. Which is why Secretary Paulson has been talking with his counterparts so frequently in the past several months,” Perino said.

“And increasingly over the past weekend they did that with more frequency. I’m sure that the economy is going to be a topic at the UNGA meeting, which is going to take place next week. It was a topic at the G-8 meeting, and the G-7 ministers continue to talk about it as well,” Perino said.