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Clinton sends farewell letter to Indian prime minister

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January 22, 2001 

NEW DELHI-- (AP) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has written to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee lauding efforts made by India to achieve peace in south Asia, officials said Sunday.

"I especially applaud your perseverance, despite setbacks, in efforts to achieve peace in Kashmir," Clinton, who left office on Saturday, said in a farewell letter to Vajpayee. The text of Clinton's letter was made available to the media on Sunday.

Describing his visit to India in March 2000 and Vajpayee's return state visit to Washington as "turning points" in relations between India and the United States, Clinton said he counted the revival of ties with India as one of the achievements of his administration. The two visits marked a thaw in relations between the two countries, which for decades had been estranged due to Cold War partisanship and perceptions.

Relations between New Delhi and Washington went into a deep chill after India conducted a series of nuclear tests in the summer of 1998. India's tests were followed by Pakistan's nuclear tests, leading Clinton himself to describe the subcontinent as one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Washington imposed economic sanctions against India, a move which further angered India.

The starting of a strategic dialogue on security and nonproliferation issues between India and the United States within months of the nuclear tests, followed 18-months later by Clinton's highly successful visit to India, melted the ice.

Sanctions are still in place and India is holding out on signing a global treaty to ban nuclear tests, but the two countries have begun cooperating on several key economic, scientific and security issues.