US hopes to engage India on issue of nuclear regimes: Clinton

On the eve of her maiden official visit to India, US secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the two sides would hold their "most wide-ranging" strategic dialogue ever and hoped to engage New Delhi on the "difficult issue" of global and regional regimes on WMD, particularly nuclear weapons.

"We are delighted that our two countries will be engaging in a very broad, comprehensive dialogue. It is the most wide-ranging that I think has ever been put on the table between India and the US," said Clinton, whose five-day India visit begins tomorrow with Mumbai being her first stop.

"It (the bilateral partnership) has six pillars to it, one of which, of course, is foreign policy, strategic challenges, along with, you know, other matters like health, and education, and agriculture and the economy," she said.

India had "a tremendous opportunity and a growing responsibility" to play not just a regional role but a global one as well, she said, adding there are a number of areas where the US would welcome Indian leadership and involvement.

"There's nothing easy about non-proliferation. Anybody who ever read (former US deputy secretary of state) Strobe Talbott's book 'Engaging India' knows that it's a very difficult issue. But, we want to look at new ways for global and regional regimes on weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly nuclear," she said, apparently referring to New Delhi's objection to joining NPT and CTBT.

Clinton said the US has identified India as one of the "emerging global powers", with whom it wants to build a partnership to address the challenges like climate change, terrorism, recession and non-proliferation.

"We will put special emphasis on encouraging major and emerging global powers: China, India, Russia and Brazil, as well as Turkey, Indonesia and South Africa to be full partners in tackling the global agenda," she said yesterday in a major foreign policy speech at the Council on Foreign Affairs, a Washington-based think tank.

"I want to underscore the importance of this task and my personal commitment to it. These States are vital to achieving solutions to the shared problems and advancing our priorities, non-proliferation, counter-terrorism, economic growth, climate change among others," she said, adding "with these States, we will stand firm on our principles even as we seek common ground."

During her upcoming visit to India, Clinton said she and her counterpart SM Krishna will lay out a broad-based agenda that calls for a whole government approach to the bilateral relationship.