Richard Armitage

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has classified India as one of the major powers in the world, while speaking to insiders at the State Department.

In his keynote address on Nov. 17 to the Overseas Security Advisory Council, a private association that helps the Department protect overseas personnel, Armitage noted that President George W. Bush would soon be traveling to Chile for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting on trade.

“The global underpinning of our economy is growing even stronger: World trade negotiations are back on track; we have free trade agreements in place with important partners from Central America to Australia; an unprecedented improvement in our relations with the major powers of the world, from China, Japan, Russia to India,” said Armitage.