Bush writes to Vajpayee

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, FEB. 12. The United States President, Mr. George W Bush, is understood to have written to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, expressing the hope that the two would ``foster a strong and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship.''

These sentiments are expressed in a letter, dated February 7, delivered to the Prime Minister by the American Ambassador, Mr. Richard Celeste. Mr. Bush is believed to have reiterated the American commitment to ``make efforts to assist India in overcoming the effects of the Gujarat earthquake.''

This communication was essentially a follow-up, it is learnt, to the telephonic conversation the American President had on January 30 with Mr. Vajpayee in the backdrop of the Gujarat earthquake. Mr. Bush is understood to have expressed a desire that ``his administration would work to build on the progress achieved in the Indo-U.S. relations in recent years.'' He is also learnt to have told Mr. Vajpayee that he would soon be writing to him to reinforce his administration's desire to widen the bilateral cooperation. Thus the presidential letter.

Sources in the Vajpayee administration note with satisfaction that President Bush himself had confirmed what had been heard from other sources that Washington would carry forward and consolidate the new understanding achieved in recent years.

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