United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has described Washington’s relationship with New Delhi as very important and a senior official accompanying him characterized India as a “rising global power.”

“As the world’s largest democracy, (India is) a nation that we have important and continuing relationships with,” Rumsfeld said in an interview with the American Forces Information Service (AFIS), the official news service of the U.S. armed forces. He was speaking ahead of his arrival in New Delhi for talks on defense cooperation and security issues.

A senior U.S. defense official who traveled with Rumsfeld told AFIS that India was a “rising global power” and it was important for Washington to maintain close ties with New Delhi.

The official also noted that India had the world’s second largest Muslim population but no Indian had joined Al Qaeda or Taliban. “The symbolic nature of a rising global power with a huge Muslim population as a secular democracy that has no known Taliban or Al Qaeda operatives is important...to recognize.”

“This is because democracy works here,” the official said, “and India is an example for many other countries in the region.”

Rumsfeld last visited India in June 2002 at the height of tensions with Pakistan. The official said the situation had “improved mightily” since then and that terrorist infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir had also lessened.

The AFIS report noted India had pledged $400 million toward Afghan reconstruction efforts and $20 million toward humanitarian assistance in Iraq, and made offers of assistance in training Iraqi officials on election initiatives.

“So we want to encourage (India) to continue to support us in these reconstruction efforts,” the official said. “(India) is going to have a very important role to play in the world, and we need to be partners in this and to recognize that India has this potential,” the official said. “And by cooperating on these issues, we’re furthering our relationship.”