U.S. President Barack Obama described India Thursday a rising and responsible global power, and he believed that U.S.-India relationship would be a defining partnership in the present century.
Addressing a reception at the State Department hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her visiting Indian counterpart S M Krishna after the inaugural U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, he said his country's relations with India were at the highest of priorities for his administration and for him personally as president.
"The United States values our partnership not because of where India is on a map but because of what we share and where we can go together," he told the select audience during a rare appearance at the State Department.
Asserting that India was indispensable to the future that the U.S. was seeking, a future of "security and prosperity for all nations," Obama said: "That's why a third of my Cabinet has already visited India. That is why officials from across my administration are a part of this strategic dialogue. That's why I want to thank you for the progress that we've made together since Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh's visit."
Recapitulating the very first official state visit of his presidency of Singh in November, he said then itself that India was a leader in Asia and around the world, a rising power and a responsible global power.
"That's why I firmly believe that the relationship between the United States and India will be a defining partnership in the 21st century," he said.
Noting that the new National Security Strategy that was released last week made this absolutely clear, Obama said a fundamental pillar of America's comprehensive engagement with the world involved deepening U.S. co-operation with the present century's centers of influence, and that included India.
He said US-India relationship was fundamentally unique, because the two countries shared common interests and values, as the world's two largest democracies and as countries rich in diversity, with deep and close connections among their peoples.
On his much-awaited visit to India in November, Obama said that when it came to building a future of greater prosperity, opportunity and security for people there was no doubt he would have to go to India, but even more he was proud to go to India.
"And I look forward to the history that we will make together, the progress that will be treasured not only by this generation, but by future generations to come," he said.
Obama further said the two countries were strengthening their economic co-operation on finance and investment as also trade that were creating jobs in both nations. In this regard, he was looking forward to working with Prime Minister Singh and other G-20 partners this month at Toronto as they work to foster a balanced and sustained economic growth.
Hailing the recent agreement between the two sides on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, he said both countries were moving ahead with their civil nuclear agreement, besides expanding green partnership to promote green buildings, energy-efficiency and sustainable development that created jobs and reduced poverty.
"As we strive to implement our Copenhagen commitments, we'll be working together to ensure a successful climate conference in Mexico later this year," Obama said.
Turning to international terrorism, he said India and the U.S. were co-operating more closely than ever before against transnational threats.
"This includes making progress for the Afghan people, and preventing terrorism, whether it's in Manhattan or in Mumbai," he said.
It also included securing vulnerable nuclear materials, besides efforts for a stronger global non-proliferation regime where all nations lived up to their obligations, he went on.
The president also said the two countries were broadening partnerships between their peoples, especially in science, technology and global health as demonstrated in more students taking advantage of the expanded Fulbright-Nehru program.
"We're working to expand ties between our universities and community colleges. We're partnering on agriculture and research to reduce global hunger, and to share India's incredible progress with other countries," he added.
Earlier Thursday, kicking off their first-ever Strategic Dialogue, India and the U.S. pledged to strengthen their co-operation in key areas, including defense, counter-terrorism, education, nuclear energy, agriculture and climate-change.
Krishna and Clinton began their day-long deliberations at the State Department with the American leader stressing on the need for co-operation in counter-terrorism by improved sharing of intelligenc as the two countries were "seared by acts of terrorism".
Clinton also said the U.S. was committed to the modernization of India's armed forces, and that the U.S. military held the maximum number of joint exercises with the Indian Army.
Krishna said the threat of trans-national terrorism required both India and the U.S. to co-operate closer than ever, though the epicenter of this threat lay in India's neighborhood.
India's quest for a permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council to reflect its growing stature, the security situation in Afghanistan-Pakistan and regional stability, and co-operation on a raft of bilateral and global issues were reported discussed by the two leaders.
Clinton said the U.S. felt that India had not "fully embraced" its role in regional and global affairs and indicated support for New Delhi's aspirations for permanent seat in the expanded U.N. Security Council.
In remarks ahead of the talks at the U.S. State Department, Clinton said suo motu that "India's rise will be a factor in any future consideration of reform of the Security Council."
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.