Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's reply to President Nixon's welcome speech in Washington
November 4, 1971

It is a pleasure to be in Washington and to meet you and Mrs. Nixon once again. I am grateful for your invitation which had made this visit possible.

It has not been easy to get away at a time when India is beleaguered. To the natural calamities of drought, flood and cyclone has been added a man-made tragedy of vast proportions. I am haunted by the tormented faces in our overcrowded refugee camps reflecting the grim events which have compelled the exodus of these millions from East Bengal.

I have come here looking for a deeper understanding of the situation in our part of the world, in search of some wise impulse which, as history tells us, has sometimes worked to save humanity from despair.

I look forward to our discussions. I have no doubt that they will lead to strengthening of friendship and understanding between our two nations and to a lighting of our path as we work together for peace in Asia and the world.

We share a community of ideals and there is no real conflict of interests between us. Our people value your friendship. They have great admiration for the spirit of quest of the American people for their desire to reach beyond the immediate. I bring the greetings of India to you and to the warm-hearted people of the United States.

And, I fully and sincerely reciprocate the desire which you expressed that the sun may always shine on our friendship and that we may always work for those ideals which our people and countries have cherished through these years.

Source: Bangladesh Documents, vol-II, p.261