According to President Barack Obama, U.S. ties with India will be “one of the defining relationships” of the 21st century. At the conclusion of talks earlier today, Obama said he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to “work even closer” on sharing information between intelligence agencies and law enforcement. Singh promised increased cooperation with Washington in efforts to battle terrorism.
In regards to security, Obama said India and the U.S. are natural allies.”We both recognize that our core goal is to achieve peace and security for all peoples in the region, not just one country or the other,” he said. The United States was India’s largest trading partner this year, Obama noted. He went on to explain that broadening trade ties would help create much needed jobs in both countries as governments continue trying to stimulate recession-hit economies.
Both countries have known the pain of international terrorism, “Our nations are two global leaders, driven not to dominate other nations but to build a future of security and prosperity for all nations,” Obama said. At the end of their two-hour meeting they talked about commitments to reduce greenhouse gases in advance of the next month’s climate change summit in Copenhagen.
