Mumbai: US President Barack Obama vowed to "eradicate the scourge of terrorism" on Saturday, as he signed the condolence book at a memorial to the November 2008 attacks on India's financial hub, Mumbai.
"We will always remember the events of 26/11; not only the sorrow but also the courage and humanity that was displayed that day," he wrote in the book at the city's Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
"The United States stands in solidarity with all of Mumbai and all of India in working to eradicate the scourge of terrorism, and we affirm our lasting friendship with the Indian people."
The Taj was Obama's first stop at the start of a three-day India visit.
The president signed and dated the entry while his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, also added her name.
The couple looked sombre as they arrived at the memorial, which is engraved with the names of the 31 people who lost their lives at the luxury seafront hotel when it was stormed by gunmen on the evening of November 26, 2008.
A total of 166 people died and more than 300 others were injured in the wave of attacks by 10 gunmen on three luxury hotels, the city's main railway station, a Jewish centre and popular restaurant.
The Obamas each placed a white rose on the memorial during their five minute visit, after meeting families of some of the victims and survivors of the attacks.
They included the Taj's general manager, who helped guests escape despite losing his wife and two sons, and a railway station announcer, who directed commuters to take cover as two gunmen went on the rampage on the concourse.
Obama says US and India united
Obama said India and Washington stood united to guard the "torch of freedom", opening a state visit at the Mumbai hotel ravaged in the November 2008 terror attacks.
Obama, launching a nine-day Asian tour designed to drum up jobs for America, paid symbolic homage to the victims of the Mumbai attack, likening it to the September 11, 2001 strike on the United States.
"We visit here to send a very clear message that in our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the United States and India stand united," Obama said at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
"Ever since those horrific days, two years ago, the Taj has been a symbol of the strength and the resilience of the Indian people," Obama said, after touring the rebuilt hotel and meeting survivors of the attacks.
"We will never forget the awful images of 26/11. The flames from this hotel that lit up the night sky. We'll never forget how the world, including the American people, watched and grieved with all of India," said a sombre Obama.
The president said "terrorists" who launched the carnage at the hotel and in the streets of Mumbai offered only death and destruction and could not trump the diversity, tolerance and resilience of nations like India and America.
"We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest," Obama said, quoting India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Treading a fine diplomatic line, Obama did not mention that suspects blamed for the attacks, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, were based in Pakistan, India's arch-rival and America's anti-terror ally.
The only surviving gunman from the assault said they were recruited, trained and equipped by the banned LeT, with support from elements in Pakistan's military and intelligence service.
In Mumbai, Obama will also visit the house where the father of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi, stayed on visits to the city. The US president has cited Gandhi as a key influence.
He will also speak to Indian entrepreneurs importing US technologies and top US executives from firms like PepsiCo and GE, before giving a speech to an audience including 200 US business leaders.
A number of major deals are expected to be announced, with Obama lobbying for a series of multi-billion-dollar Indian weapons contracts.
"President Obama intends this trip to be and intends our policy to be a full embrace of India's rise," the president's new national security adviser Tom Donilon told reporters on Air Force One.
Obama moves on to New Delhi on Sunday, where he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then deliver an address to parliament.
