PM to raise Afghan-Pak concerns with Obama

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President Barack Obama on Thursday for the first time as the world's most powerful leaders begin their London summit.

India is expected to pitch for a safer nuclear world and a stable world economy at the summit, but most crucial for India is the Prime Minister's meeting with Obama. So far the Obama administration has laid more emphasis on their relationship with China in the block of developing countries.

The PM visited British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his residence before the G-20 summit. It was a meeting of good friends both of who are most comfortable discussing economics.

But the biggest diplomatic challenge for the Indian team will be the meeting with the star of the summit.

"The PM's most crucial bilateral meeting at the summit will be with President Obama. His first acquires added significance with the Obama administration announcing their new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy.

Given India's concerns about terrorism originating from Pakistan, it has concerns over where and how it figures in this new strategy that triples financial aid to Pakistan.

The US has said India must play a crucial role in ensuring stability in Afghanistan, but has also hinted that Indo-Pak tensions must ease in order to keep the focus on Afghanistan.

"The US has just unveiled their Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy so naturally that'll be discussed, but I don't want to second guess," said Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.

Diplomats know the importance of personal rapports between leaders as they often help shape relationship between countries.

"It's an opportunity for leaders to talk informally, not on the basis of preset agendas," said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.

Analysts however feel the pragmatic Americans will not want to invest too much in the meeting, as they know elections in India could well mean they are dealing with another government in a few months.