Washington:
Pakistan-sponsored terrorism will be high on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's agenda when he sits down for talks with President Obama in Washington. The PM leaves on Saturday for what is the Obama administration's first state visit.
In a departure statement, the PM said, "Today, India-US relations are characterized by greater maturity and depth. I look forward to building upon this momentum. I also look forward to exchanging views with President Obama on terrorism, climate change, the global economic slowdown, the Doha round of trade negotiations, and nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation."
Washington is readying itself for the visit and authorities say this is a reflection of the close natural ties between the world's two largest democracies.
"As this will be the first substantive bilateral meeting between PM Singh and President Obama, it will be instrumental in setting out our vision for the future of this relationship and a framework within which these ties will develop within the coming years," said Meera Shankar, Indian Ambassador to the US.
PM Singh's four-day trip is aimed at solidifying a relationship that was transformed under the Bush administration with the signing of the Indo-US nuclear deal. But India and the US don't always see eye to eye, especially on issues like climate change and non-proliferation. Talks on Pakistan and china will also be high on the priority
"Clearly there are problems that are related to Pakistan and Afghanistan on one hand and with China on the other. The Indian fear is that when it comes to regional issues, the US is more interested in Pakistan and when it comes to the global issues, the President seems more interested in China. Now in Beijing, the President seems to have compounded both these problems into one by saying that we will get China to supervise over India and Pakistan. This is some thing that India will want to clarify at the highest level. President Obama is in his first year. Mamohan Singh is in his first year of his second term. This s a moment where there is enough political capital for the two leaders to do some thing significant but they but they need to manage their misperceptions of Pakistan Afghanistan and China, said Raja Mohan, a foreign policy expert.
The visit will climax with a state dinner on Tuesday, which is Washington's equivalent of the Oscars. On the guest list are lobbyists, celebrities, and movers-and-shakers. The big question right now, in Washington, is who has made the cut off on this list. Rumor has that Oprah Winfrey will be attending but Obama's office is not confirming any thing yet except that it will be an affair like no other.