INDO US TIGER PROJECT

[Guest guest]

Bush waits for Singh, with tiger

THE TELEGRAPH,KOLKATA

 

Today's Edition | Sunday, July 17, 2005 |

 

 

K.P. NAYAR

Washington, July 16: After scouting for months for a policy gift which would

personally please Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his three-day visit to

Washington from Monday, the White House has settled on an issue that is close to

Singh’s heart: protecting the tiger.

 

One of 16 Indo-US joint initiatives to be launched during Singh’s meeting with

President George W. Bush on Monday is a project to protect the Bengal Tiger.

 

Final details of the initiative are still under scrutiny, but American sources

said they may go as far as to join the worldwide Tiger Conservation Initiative.

Until now, the US has kept out of the initiative, which groups India, Bangladesh

and several other countries, which are the natural habitat of tigers. Canada is

the initiative’s most recent member.

 

The Indo-US project to protect the Bengal Tiger from threats of extinction

follows Bush’s insistence that he must do for Singh something that is in

addition to grand policy visions, such as co-operation in space or nuclear

energy: something that the Prime Minister would treasure as a gain not only for

his country, but also for an issue to which he is individually committed.

 

The search for such a policy gift has been going on for months. Protocol

officials and policy wonks at the state department, the White House and various

Bush administration agencies put their heads together and talked to their Indian

counterparts. But several ideas, which were proposed did not find favour at the

top of the Bush administration.

 

Finally, the President took matters into his own hands. When he went to

Gleneagles this month for the Group of Eight (G8) summit, he requested British

Prime Minister Tony Blair to seat him next to Singh in what has come to be known

as the “G8 plus five” part of the summit.

 

This part of the annual summit now brings together the G8 leaders and leaders of

five emerging economies — India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa — as

well as the heads of the International Energy Agency, the World Bank, the World

Trade Organisation and the UN. This part of the summit comprises a meeting and a

dinner.

 

Bush asked Blair to seat him next to Singh at the “G8 plus five”, according to

sources here, because the President wanted to get to know the Prime Minister

better before Singh arrived at the White House. The two leaders have had three

meetings so far, but, sources said, it was only at Gleneagles that they got to

know each other.

 

Bush, who has a reputation of viewing anything to do with environment with

extreme suspicion, is said to have come back from Gleneagles convinced that the

US should join the Tiger Conservation Initiative.

 

The joint project to be unveiled here on Monday will focus on the tiger

population in the Sunderbans and Buxa in West Bengal, in addition to other parts

of India where the species are threatened, according to officials giving final

touches to the initiative.

 

It will seek to revive co-operation between research and educational

institutions in both India and the US, which are engaged in wildlife protection

and the environment.

 

In preparing the project, officials here are said to have pored over details of

Singh’s visit to the Ranthambore National Park in May, when he ventured up to

five feet of Lady of the Lake, one the tigresses in the park.

 

Bush is said to have personally familiarised himself with accounts of a task

force set up by Singh to protect the tiger after they allegedly disappeared from

Sariska.

 

“In 2005 and indeed in the second term of President Bush’s tenure in office,

there is certainly no higher priority than expanding and broadening our

relationship with India,” a senior administration official, who cannot be

identified because of the ground rules for his briefing, said here yesterday.

 

The tiger initiative and the other 15 similar ones are meant to demonstrate that

“we have never had an Indo-US relationship as comprehensive and as broad-based

and so important in its full dimensions for both countries. We see India as one

of our key partners worldwide”, the official emphasized.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Great news - hope something tangible comes out of this.

 

S. Chinny Krishna

Blue Cross of India

 

Ghosh [shubhobrotoghosh]

Friday, July 22, 2005 2:10 PM

aapn

INDO US TIGER PROJECT

 

Bush waits for Singh, with tiger

THE TELEGRAPH,KOLKATA

 

Today's Edition | Sunday, July 17, 2005 |

 

 

K.P. NAYAR

Washington, July 16: After scouting for months for a policy gift which would

personally please Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his three-day visit

to Washington from Monday, the White House has settled on an issue that is

close to Singh's heart: protecting the tiger.

 

One of 16 Indo-US joint initiatives to be launched during Singh's meeting

with President George W. Bush on Monday is a project to protect the Bengal

Tiger.

 

Final details of the initiative are still under scrutiny, but American

sources said they may go as far as to join the worldwide Tiger Conservation

Initiative. Until now, the US has kept out of the initiative, which groups

India, Bangladesh and several other countries, which are the natural habitat

of tigers. Canada is the initiative's most recent member.

 

The Indo-US project to protect the Bengal Tiger from threats of extinction

follows Bush's insistence that he must do for Singh something that is in

addition to grand policy visions, such as co-operation in space or nuclear

energy: something that the Prime Minister would treasure as a gain not only

for his country, but also for an issue to which he is individually

committed.

 

The search for such a policy gift has been going on for months. Protocol

officials and policy wonks at the state department, the White House and

various Bush administration agencies put their heads together and talked to

their Indian counterparts. But several ideas, which were proposed did not

find favour at the top of the Bush administration.

 

Finally, the President took matters into his own hands. When he went to

Gleneagles this month for the Group of Eight (G8) summit, he requested

British Prime Minister Tony Blair to seat him next to Singh in what has come

to be known as the " G8 plus five " part of the summit.

 

This part of the annual summit now brings together the G8 leaders and

leaders of five emerging economies - India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South

Africa - as well as the heads of the International Energy Agency, the World

Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the UN. This part of the summit

comprises a meeting and a dinner.

 

Bush asked Blair to seat him next to Singh at the " G8 plus five " , according

to sources here, because the President wanted to get to know the Prime

Minister better before Singh arrived at the White House. The two leaders

have had three meetings so far, but, sources said, it was only at Gleneagles

that they got to know each other.

 

Bush, who has a reputation of viewing anything to do with environment with

extreme suspicion, is said to have come back from Gleneagles convinced that

the US should join the Tiger Conservation Initiative.

 

The joint project to be unveiled here on Monday will focus on the tiger

population in the Sunderbans and Buxa in West Bengal, in addition to other

parts of India where the species are threatened, according to officials

giving final touches to the initiative.

 

It will seek to revive co-operation between research and educational

institutions in both India and the US, which are engaged in wildlife

protection and the environment.

 

In preparing the project, officials here are said to have pored over details

of Singh's visit to the Ranthambore National Park in May, when he ventured

up to five feet of Lady of the Lake, one the tigresses in the park.

 

Bush is said to have personally familiarised himself with accounts of a task

force set up by Singh to protect the tiger after they allegedly disappeared

from Sariska.

 

" In 2005 and indeed in the second term of President Bush's tenure in office,

there is certainly no higher priority than expanding and broadening our

relationship with India, " a senior administration official, who cannot be

identified because of the ground rules for his briefing, said here

yesterday.

 

The tiger initiative and the other 15 similar ones are meant to demonstrate

that " we have never had an Indo-US relationship as comprehensive and as

broad-based and so important in its full dimensions for both countries. We

see India as one of our key partners worldwide " , the official emphasized.