US President Barack Obama would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Bali, Indonesia, on 18th November on the sidelines of the East Asia summit, first time in about a year.
The two leaders are expected to review the progress in bilateral ties since Obama's visit to India last November; besides discussing a wide range of issues including economic ties, Afghanistan and security relationship, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes told reporters during an off camera briefing at the White House on Wednesday. "India, of course, as a rapidly growing economy, as a strong democracy and as an important security partner and counterterrorism partner in South Asia, is a very important relationship to the United States," he said. "He (Obama) and Prime Minister Singh have not had the chance to meet in some time. They'll have the ability to discuss regional developments, to discuss Afghanistan, to discuss our deepening economic and commercial ties with India, as well as to discuss the East Asia Summit," Rhodes said. Observing that the Obama Administration values its relationship with India, the White House official said New Delhi plays an important role in the Asia Pacific region. Rhodes said the US "has been an anchor of security in Asia-Pacific since World War II, essentially." He said the "core of that is our alliances with Australia, Korea, Japan and several other countries," but "from the beginning of this administration (it has) engaged the emerging powers in Asia-Pacific, China and India, Indonesia and others, as well as engaged regional institutions like APEC and the East Asia Summit that the president will be participating in".
(DD-10.11) |
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