A top US official on Thursday described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as “a man of uncommon decency and grace” who has led the way in building the Indo-US partnership, as he presented the Indian leader The World Statesman Award.
“History will also mark with special significance Prime Minister Singh’s personal contributions to the emerging partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, America and India,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns said at an awards dinner where the PM was awarded in absentia by the Appeals of Conscience Foundation.
“As President Obama prepares for an historic state visit to India later this autumn, the promise of our partnership, built on strong bipartisan foundations in both our countries, looms bright and unmistakable. More than anyone else, it is Prime Minister Singh who has led the way in building US-India partnership,” he said, citing Singh’s strong support to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
He said Singh’s economic policies have helped India’s rise within the new G-20 world, and helped produce a doubling of US-India bilateral trade in just a few years.
“And Prime Minister Singh’s advocacy of cooperation in high technology and science led to the recent launch of India’s first unmanned lunar probe, which carried a NASA payload and discovered presence of water molecules on the moon,” Burns said.
{{/usCountry}}“And Prime Minister Singh’s advocacy of cooperation in high technology and science led to the recent launch of India’s first unmanned lunar probe, which carried a NASA payload and discovered presence of water molecules on the moon,” Burns said.
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