Obama: US, India to deepen anti-terrorism cooperation (2nd Lead)

Nov 6, 2010, 11:27 GMT

New Delhi - US President Barack Obama vowed to intensify counter-terrorism cooperations with New Delhi as he opened his India tour Saturday by paying homage to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Obama and his wife Michelle are staying at Mumbai's sea-side Taj Hotel, one of the targets of the three-day siege that killed 166 people across India's financial capital.

In his first comments after landing in Mumbai, Obama drew a parallel between the Mumbai and the 9/11 attacks. 'We will never forget,' he said.

'Just as our people prayed together at candlelight vigils, our governments have worked closer than ever, sharing intelligence, preventing more attacks and demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice'.

The US leader visited the 'Tree of Life' memorial in the hotel and also met with survivors of the attacks.

'Indeed, today the US and India are working more closely than ever to keep our people safe and I look forward to deepening our counter- terrorism cooperation even further, when I meet with Prime Minister (Manmohan) Sngh in New Delhi,' he said.

Calling the Taj a symbol of India's resilence, Obama said that the perpetrators of the attacks should be brought to justice. 'Those who attacked Mumbai wanted to demoralize this city and this country but they failed,' he said.

'Yes, our visit here is to send a very clear message that in our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the US and India stand united,' he said.

Six US nationals were among those killed when a group of 10 gunmen from Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group, attacked multiple sites including the iconic hotel beginning November 26, 2008.

The Mumbai attacks stalled a peace dialogue between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Prodded by the US, India and Pakistan resumed bilateral talks earlier in 2010, but have not made much headway so far.

India and US have already signed a counter-terrorism cooperation initiative.

Ahead of the Obama visit, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said there were moves to enhance such cooperation including on the investigations into the Mumbai terror attacks.

Officials accompanying the US leader earlier said as many as 18 announcements across economic, security and political fields could be expected after Obama meets Singh on Monday.

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