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A giant tent serves as the venue for a state dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama for India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the South Lawn of the White House - Source: Reuters -
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President Barack Obama sought to reassure Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh of his commitment to boosting US ties with India
even as his administration has set its rivals, China and Pakistan,
as top priorities.
Treating Singh to the first state visit of his presidency, Obama
faced the challenge of easing the emerging Asian power's concerns
that it is slipping down his foreign policy agenda, dominated
recently by efforts to craft a new war plan in Afghanistan and curb
Iran's nuclear program.
"Your visit, at this pivotal moment in history, speaks to the
opportunity before us to build the relationship between our nations
... into one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century,"
Obama told Singh at a welcoming ceremony.
India's government had looked to the White House talks for a clear
message that Obama intends to sustain momentum in improving
diplomatic and economic relations that deepened under his
predecessor, George Bush.
Obama responded by hailing India as indispensable to global
security and prosperity.
Obama later entertained Singh at an elegant state dinner held in a
large tent on the South Lawn of the White House, and was warmly
thanked by his guest for the honour.
"Your journey to the White House has captured the imagination of
millions and millions of people in India. You are an inspiration to
all those who cherish the values of democracy, diversity and equal
opportunity," Singh said to loud applause before toasting his
host.
The summit agenda focused heavily on enhancing economic links that
have blossomed since India's market reforms in the early 1990s.
Two-way trade grew to nearly $68 billion last year from just
$6.8 billion in 1990, turning the United States into India's
largest trading partner.
Obama and Singh told a joint news conference they were committed to
completing a 2005 civil nuclear agreement that would open up
India's potential $205 billion market in power plants, but gave no
details on how they planned to settle remaining snags that have
delayed its implementation.
"We seek to broaden and deepen our strategic partnership," Singh
said, with both leaders citing their countries' shared values as
the world's largest democracies.
But while Washington and New Delhi have moved beyond the chilly
relations of the Cold War era, sore points remain.
Indian suspicions centre on US ally Pakistan - which many in India
blame in part for Islamist violence such as the 2008 attack on
Mumbai - and Obama's increased focus on the relationship with
China, another old India rival.
But a senior US official insisted any notion in India of us tilting
in one direction or another is a misperception.
Tensions
As Obama decides on the deployment of thousands of additional
troops to an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan, the
president made clear he wants to lower tensions between India and
Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbours which have fought three wars
since independence in 1947.
The US hope is that the Pakistani army can devote more resources to
fighting Islamic militants who threaten the stability of Pakistan
as well as of neighbouring Afghanistan.
"Obviously, there are historic conflicts between India and
Pakistan," Obama said with Singh at his side.
"It is not the place of the United States to try to, from the
outside, resolve all those conflicts."
"We want to be encouraging of ways in which both India and Pakistan
can feel secure," Obama said after telling reporters he planned to
announce his new Afghanistan strategy soon.
Indian officials had been expected to press the United States for a
tougher line on Pakistan, which it accuses of sheltering militants
like the ones that hit Mumbai.
Singh had also been expected to bring up China, a rising Asian
giant that has a long-running border dispute with India.
Obama's visit to China last week drew criticism at home that he has
been too conciliatory toward Beijing, the largest holder of US
government debt. Washington, however, regards India as an Asian
counterweight to an increasingly assertive China.
After their talks, Obama and Singh reaffirmed their hope a
comprehensive deal can be reached at next month's international
climate summit in Copenhagen but gave no sign they had narrowed
their countries' differences on the issue.
They did, however, sign several modest green energy deals.
