Clinton condoles Mumbai attack victims, meets business leaders

Clinton condoles Mumbai attack victims, meets business leaders New Delhi  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began her India tour by attending a ceremony commemorating the November's Mumbai terrorist attacks, before meeting Indian business leaders in the coastal metropolis on Saturday.

Clinton also met briefly with staff members of the Taj and Trident-Oberoi hotels, among the targets of the terrorists.

She was scheduled to meet some victims of the attacks later on Saturday, local news channels reported.

Clinton, who arrived in Mumbai late Friday night, chose to stay at the Taj Hotel as a gesture of solidarity with India's fight against terrorism.

Mumbai, capital of western Maharashtra state, was attacked by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba who reached the metropolis via sea on November 26 and killed 166 people in key locations across the city.

Soon after the commemorative event, Clinton held a breakfast meeting with India's top business leaders. Those present included Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India's largest private company Reliance Industries, and Ratan Tata, chief of the 62.5-billion-dollar Tata Group.

Invigorating business and trade ties between the two countries will be a key element of the Clinton visit, coming in the context of the global economic meltdown.

India's relatively strong growth of 6 per cent and its resilient economy make the country a strong focus for the US. Clinton's visit is expected to give a further boost to bilateral trade volume that is estimated over 43 billion dollars annually.

Later Saturday, Clinton will meet with members of women's groups and interact with students and teachers of the St Xavier's College in the city.

Making her first visit to India after becoming secretary of state in the Obama administration this year, Clinton plans to travel to the national capital New Delhi on Sunday.

She is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on a wide range of issues, including nuclear non-proliferation, combating climate change as well as the regional security situation on Monday.

She is to leave for Thailand on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).