"The World Needs India," Says President Bush at ISB

"The World Needs India," Says President Bush at ISB

Hyderabad, March 3, 2006: President Bush praised India's capability of living together with diverse people in harmony. "India is a great example of democracy. It is very devout, has diverse religious heads, but everyone is comfortable about their religion."

"The world needs India," he said.

He shared his views on other subjects during his discussions at the ISB. Following are some excerpts: -

On Alternative Sources of Energy

President Bush spoke about the need of alternative sources of energy for the country's growing needs, which could come from safe civilian nuclear facilities.

"When India's economy grows at 8%, you consume a lot of energy. So, it is in the global interest that we are concerned about the consumption of that energy," he said.

He revealed that he had discussed alternative sources of energy with President Abdul Kalam - who he thought was "a good guy". The discussion centred on the use of bio-mass and ethanol for energy needs in India. He quoted the example of Brazil's use of ethanol in almost 80% of its cars manufactured by General Motors, which is a US-based company.

On Free Trade

On the question of free trade, the President said, "We are working towards a free trade agreement, but it is important to get the Doha Round (on multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO) done."

With regard to protectionism policy, his comments were, "If you look at the history of the world, protectionism policy leads to recession, and sometimes depression."

President Bush also had words of praise about Indian education. "Indian schools are doing a good job educating their students in the sciences and math - the subjects of the 21st century," he said.

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Contributed by -
Ms. Bhuvana Ramalingam,
Director - Communications,
Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

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