Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Condoleezza Rice...
in India's southern city of Chennai on Wednesday.
She was addressing students and a select group of opinion-makers at the Anna Centenary Library. Clinton's address was televised live by TV channels. Chennai is the capital city of India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Hillary is in India on a two-day official visit to attend the second round of the Indo-US Strategic Dialogue. Today was the final day of her visit, the second in past two years.
Making heaps of praises on India, she said: "We understand that much of the history of 21st century will be written in Asia, and that much of the future of Asia will be shaped by decisions not just by the Indian government but by state governments across India and by its 1.3 billion people who live in this country".
She added that the US vouched by India's growth potential. "We are betting on India's future. That opening of India's markets to world will produce a more prosperous India, and South Asia too. We are betting that India's vibrant pluralistic society will inspire others to follow a similar path of tolerance. We are making this bet not out of blind faith but because we have watched your progress with great admiration".
Hillary further stated that because of its tremendous growth, India has rightfully attained a place of prominence at the international fora. "India is taking its rightful place in the conference rooms of the world where the most consequential questions are debated and decided. President B.O. has backed India's bid for permanent membership of UN Security Council".
Hailing India's democratic structure, the US Secretary also stated that India's Election Commission had set up a global standard for running free and fair elections.
On Indo-US relations, she said that the bilateral ties would be "one of the defining relationships of the 21st century".
Acknowledging differences between the two sides on a few issues, Hillary said that the bonds between the two sides were so strong that they outweighed the differences. "We will have differences from time to time as friends sometimes do, but our bonds far outweigh our differences. We are both committed to fighting terror".
She also advocated for a closer people-to-people relations between the two nations.