By IANS,
Washington : President Barack Tuesday called India a “rising and responsible global power” and said that he was “fully committed” to completing their landmark civil nuclear deal that would open up India’s potential $150 billion market in power plants.
“The relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century,” Obama said at a joint press meet after his summit meeting in the Oval office with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“We’ve made progress in confronting climate change. I commended the prime minister for India’s leadership in areas like green building and energy efficiency,” he said.
He acknowledged the anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Talking about the relationship between the two countries, Obama told Manmohan Singh: “You will have no better friend and partner than the United States of America.”
Manmohan Singh in turn said the two leaders “agreed to further intensify our trade investment and economic cooperation in a way that creates jobs and prosperity in both our two countries and stimulates global economic recovery”.
“The global economic crisis has brought home the fact that our prosperity is interlinked,” he said.
Asked about regional security, Obama said: “Obviously Pakistan has an enormously important role in the security in the region by making sure that the extremist organisations that often operate out of its territories are dealt with effectively.”
On Afghanistan, Obama said he would announce his strategy “shortly” and predicted: “I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we’re doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive.”