Obama admn accords high importance to ties with India in 2009

The Indo-US strategic relations deepened further in 2009 which saw installation of Barack Obama as the first black President, who attached high importance to bilateral ties and invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his first State Guest.

The Indo-US strategic relations deepened further in 2009 which saw installation of Barack Obama as the first black President, who attached high importance to bilateral ties and invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his first State Guest.

HT Image

Almost every step of the Obama Administration since it assumed office on January 20 indicated that the US valued its relationship with India and wanted to deepen the bond between the two countries -- the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy.

Obama called India a natural ally of the United States and to showcase the world that how much he valued the relationship, he invited Prime Minister Singh as his first State Guest.

"Mr Prime Minister, as we work to build the future, India is indispensable," Obama told Singh as he welcomed him at the White House on November 24.

The US President also for the first time acknowledged India as a nuclear power. During Singh's State Visit, the two countries also reaffirmed their commitment to take forward the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal signed during the previous Bush administration.

"I believe that the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century," Obama had said.