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Vajpayee assures Pope of protection for Christians

Our Correspondent in Rome

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee meet Pope John Paul II Monday and assured him of India's commitment to protection of the minorities.

The prime minister assured the pontiff during a 15-minute one-on-one meeting that his government would deal firmly with the perpetrators of the attacks on churches.

During the meeting, the Pope is understood to have urged that violence against Christians end and underlined the importance of freedom of religion and the tradition of religious tolerance in India.

Vajpayee also held a series of high-level discussions with Italian leaders on a wide range of economic and political issues.

The prime minister tried to convince Italy about the emerging importance of India's economy. Vajpayee urged Italian businessmen and authorities to step up bilateral trade from the existing level of two billion dollars to five billion dollars by 2004.

Both countries also signed an agreement to promote tourism. The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Yeshwant Sinha and Italian Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Tourism Mauro Fabris.

The prime minister also met President Carlo A Ciampi and his Italian counterpart Guliano Amato.

India and Italy also agreed to explore possibilities of enhancing co-operation in information technology and other knowledge-based sectors.

Adressing a joint press conference with Amato, Vajpayee said India was open to a composite dialogue process with Pakistan provided Islamabad stopped cross-border terrorism and violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

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