Obama affirms US-India ties

Even as he watched events unfold in Egypt and recalibrated US strategy accordingly, President Barack Obama took out time to join a meeting his NSA Tom Donilon was having with his Indian counterpart Shivshankar Menon on Friday morning.

Even as he watched events unfold in Egypt and recalibrated US strategy accordingly, President Barack Obama took out time to join a meeting his NSA Tom Donilon was having with his Indian counterpart Shivshankar Menon Friday morning.

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“The President joined the meeting and reaffirmed his commitment to building a true global, strategic partnership with India,” said the White House, adding, “(and) relayed his priorities for the coming year, including advancing our bilateral economic relationship and making progress on nuclear security efforts.”

The two NSAs were meeting to review progress on the initiatives announced by India and the US during Obama's November visit, a major element of it — lifting of US export controls — came through this week.

It could not be ascertained if the two also discussed the US endorsement of India's claim to a permanent seat at the US Security Council and whether there is a need to speed up the process as part of the larger reform of the world body.