Bush stays at Mumbai's Taj to express solidarity

Former US President George Bush Sunday made a point to stay at the terror-hit Taj Mahal Tower & Palace Hotel here to express his solidarity with the victims of the 26/11 attacks, and hoped that the two countries will enhance their fight against terrorism.

Bush headed straight for the Taj Mahal Tower & Palace Hotel when he arrived in the city Saturday afternoon from Delhi on a whistle-stop visit in a private jet. He was the second high-profile US politician to stay in the hotel in an act of solidarity with 26/11 victims.

He was received by the hotel's general manager Karambir Kang, who lost his wife and two children in the terrorist assault on the iconic Taj hotel, one of the places targeted by Pakistani terrorists in a three-day siege of Mumbai that killed over 170 people, including six Americans.

Interacting with the hotel staff Sunday, Bush expressed his solidarity with 26/11 victims, and expressed hope that the two countries will enhance their cooperation to defeat extremists and terrorists, source said here.

The India-US CEOs Forum hosted a dinner for Bush where he met top Indian business personalities and underlined the need for expanding trade and investment between the world's largest democracies. Bush will be leaving later Sunday, wrapping up his three-day visit, his first to the country after he was succeeded by President Barack Obama.

Incidentally, Bush was in India at a time when the US state department had issued yet another travel advisory on India, alerting its citizens to "continuing security concern" in the country.

The advisory warned US citizens that the US government "continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India."

In New Delhi, Bush Saturday spoke at a conclave organised by the Hindustan Times where he spoke about the need for India and the US to join hands in an ideological struggle against extremism that threatens both countries.

Bush also backed a place for India in the UN Security Council and described the India-US civil nuclear accord, which he struck with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as New Delhi's passport to the world. Bush said he was incredibly optimistic about the course of India-US relations in the future.

Last updated on Nov 1^st, 2009 at 16:42 pm IST--IANS