US President Barack Obama is excited about his maiden visit to India--just two months away--and is looking forward to the trip, US officials
said, adding the two countries should have constructive ties.
"The President looks forward to his trip to India," State Department spokesman, P J Crowley, told foreign journalists at the Washington Foreign Press Center. Obama is expected to visit India early November.
"As we've said many times, it is a vitally important relationship to the region and to the world," Crowley said in response to a question.
"The world's oldest democracy and largest democracy should have constructive relations, and we do.
"India, as an emerging global player, will be essential to solving challenges in the region, Afghanistan being one, and challenges globally, climate change, you know, being one," Crowley said when asked about the agenda during the Obama trip to India.
In New Delhi, US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer said Obama is excited about his visit expected to strengthen the strategic Indo-US partnership, especially related to
counter-terror and emerging businesses.
Roemer said the visit would be extraordinary and it reflects the US President's deep respect for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"When I was back home in the US this summer and visited White House, the level of excitment, the anticipation on the part of the President, all leaders...how excited our country, not just the President, but our people to have the visit," he told reporters after a meeting with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
The Ambassador said many meetings were taking place between Indian and American officials about the visit.
"The President calls it indispensible partnership today in the 21st century between the two countries...the global partnership," he said.
Roemer said he discussed with Chidambaram about the Obama visit to India and how both countries and all leaders are excited about it.
"We talked about how closely the US and India are working together on counter terrorism issues....at the techincal level and at strategic level. We talked about the opportunities to
increase this cooperation in the future," he said.
American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said early this week that US is laying the foundation for an indispensable partnership with India, and this effort would be bolstered by Obama's visit.
"India, the world's largest democracy, has a very large convergence of fundamental values and a broad range of both national and regional interests, and we are laying the foundation for an indispensable partnership," Clinton said in
her major foreign policy speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-based think-tank.
"President Obama will use his visit in November to take our relationship to the next level," Clinton said, referring to the scheduled visit of the US President to India in t