Clinton briefs Miliband on her 'wonderful' India trip

I / Washington July 30, 2009, 12:01 IST

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has briefed visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on her recent trip to India along with other issues, which she said was wonderful.  

"I updated the foreign secretary on my recent travels to India and Thailand, and our just-concluded Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China," Clinton told reporters after the meeting with Miliband at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

Clinton, however, did not elaborate what aspect of her Indian trip was part of her discussion with Miliband. Afghanistan, Iran and climate change were the major issues that came up for discussion between the two leaders.  

On Afghanistan, Clinton said both the US and Britain will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in pursuit of their common objectives.  "Both of our countries are still threatened by the same enemy, an enemy that has attacked London, New York, and Washington. We know they have attacked us in the past, and, unfortunately, we know that they plot against us even today," Clinton said. "We believe that we are pursuing a strategy, both military and civilian, that holds out promise for achieving our principal objective; that is, to destroy, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda and their allies in the syndicate of terror that has, unfortunately, taken root in Afghanistan and spilled over into Pakistan," Clinton said.  

When asked about her recent trip to India, she said: "I had a wonderful trip to India."  

Responding to media questions, Miliband said Afghanistan is not just a country plagued by an insurgency, but also by extreme poverty - one of the poorest countries in the world, an economy that so desperately needs a period of stability in order to grow.  

"I think that's a further reason for the sort of comprehensive military, political, and economic approach that is at the heart of everything that we are doing, that the United States is doing, and that the whole coalition is doing," he said.