Former US President George W Bush today favored a permanent seat for India at the United Nations Security Council, saying it has arrived as a strong democratic country in the world. He also wanted India and the US to work together to win the war on terror in Afghanistan to bring peace and stability in the region. Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit in New Delhi, he warned that the Taliban, Al Qaida and their extremist allies are trying to take over Afghanistan again and if that happens the region and the world will face serious threats. Appreciating the Indian development aid to the Afghangovernment, the former US president said, the US and India must continue to stand together to support the young democracy for the sake of security and peace. He said the US-India strategic cooperation has further been strengthened following the 9/11 terror attacks in the US in 2001, the Tsunami in 2004 and the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Expressing hope that India will continue to pursue economic reforms, Mr Bush called for further opening up of trade and business, particularly in the financial, agriculture, health and energy sector. He said, after the financial downturn of last year, the economic stage has shifted from Europe-Atlantic to Asia-Pacific. Mr Bush, who visited India in 2006 when the two sides chartered out the road map for further strengthening Indo-US strategic partnership, said the two countries shared the same values of freedom and democracy. He wholeheartedly agreed with US President Barack Obama that the US-India relations were not only one of the most important ties in the world, but they should also be one of the best.