India, China rising stars of 21st century: NATO chief

WASHINGTON: Describing India and China as two "rising stars" of this century, a top NATO official has said that is a need for the alliance to reach out to the Asian giants.

"I believe we should reach out to the rising stars of this century, such as China and India, where we have common security interests," NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen said yesterday in his address to the Center for New American Security - a Washington-based think tank at the Georgetown University.

"We are pushing ahead with the transformation of our military forces to make them more flexible and more usable," he said.

Rasmussen said a group of strategic experts, led by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, is working on the new security guidelines for the next 10 years, which is expected to be ready by the end of April.

"Their report will provide the baseline for NATO's internal deliberations. At our next summit in Lisbon in November, we will publish the new strategic concept. The development of our new strategy is the most open and inclusive process ever in the history of the alliance," he said.