White House looking to take Indo-U.S. relation to new level

WASHINGTON - With less than 100 hours left for Barack Obama to leave for his historic trip to India, the White House has said that the U.S. President is looking to elevate the Indo-U.S. relationship to a whole new level, far away from the misunderstanding and differences of the Cold War.

"We are looking to elevate the U.S.-India relationship to a whole new level. This is a relationship that during the Cold War suffered from considerable misunderstanding and distance on both sides because of history," Jeff Bader Senior Director for Asia Affairs at the National Security Council, White House said.

Bader and other US officials were responding to questions at "Tuesday Talks at the White House", a live web cast from the White House on the forthcoming 10-day Asia trip of the U.S. President.

"We are past that now. India is taking its rightful place in international community, politically, economically, and in security terms. We are looking to build the US.-India relationship to new levels, have a strategic partnership with India in all these areas," he said in response to a question.

Terming India as "one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a nation of over a billion people", Bader said it is, under Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh, has been pursuing economic policies that are allowing Indians to begin to achieve their full potential as a global actor.

"We will be looking to take advantage of all of these factors to build this relationship to a new level," he said.

Photo:The North Lawn of the White House in Washington. File photo
PTI - November 3, 2010