PM for strong Indo-US engagement to address 'grave' challenges

Hosted by president Barack Obama as the first State guest, prime minister Manmohan Singh has favoured a strong and sustained engagement between India and the US with an emphasis on finding new pathways of international cooperation to respond more effectively to the "grave" global challenges.

Obama's leadership of "this great nation" coincides with a time of profound changes taking place in the world at large, Singh said at the White House banquet in presence of over 300 personalities from Indian and American societies.

"We need to find new pathways of international cooperation that respond more effectively to the grave challenges caused by the growing interdependence of nations," he said, reciprocating to the warm welcome by Obama who showered overwhelming praise on India and the prime minister.

Obama said the two countries were bound by the "unshakeable spirit of possibility and brotherhood that transformed both the nations".

The first black American president reached out to India by greeting the audience in Hindi with 'aapka swagat hai' (you are welcome) and talking about Diwali, Guru Nanak's birthday, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Singh and Obama raised the toast at the impressive event to which colour was added by the performance by celebrated Indian musician AR Rahman and American singer Jennifer Hudson. Suiting the occasion, the guests were treated to a range of vegetarian Indian delicacies.

Obama said, "Many of you were here when I was honoured to become the first president to help celebrate Diwali — the Festival of Lights. Some of you were here for the first White House celebration of the birth of the founder of Sikhism  — Guru Nanak.

"Tonight, we gather again, for the first State dinner of my presidency — with prime minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs Gursharan Kaur, as we celebrate the great and growing partnership between the United States and India."

In India some of life's "most treasured moments" are often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent, he said.

"It's a little like (that) tonight. We have incredible food and music, and are surrounded by great friends. For it's been said that 'the most beautiful things in the universe are the starry heavens above us and the feeling of duty within us'," the president said.

Addressing Singh who stood besides him, Obama said, "Mr prime minister, today we worked to fulfil our duty – bring our countries closer together than ever before. Tonight, under the stars, we celebrate the spirit that will sustain our partnership – the bonds of friendship between our people."

He was referring to their talks earlier in the day during which they decided to chart a new partnership for the two countries.

Responding to Obama's remarks, Singh said, "You do us and the people of India great honour by this wonderful gesture on your part. We are overwhelmed by the warmth of your hospitality, the courtesy you have extended to us personally, and the grace and charm of the first lady".

Singh said as two leading democracies, India and the United States must play a leading role in building a shared destiny for all humankind.

"Mr president, a strong and sustained engagement between our two countries is good for our people and, equally, it is highly important for the world as a whole. We are embarking on a new phase of our partnership. We should build on our common values and interests to realise the enormous potential and promise of our partnership," he said.

"I look forward to working with you to renew and expand our strategic partnership," Singh told Obama.

He said the expanding Indo-US cooperation in areas of social and human development, science and technology, energy and other related areas "will improve the quality of lives of millions of people in our country."

"The success of the nearly 2.7 million-strong American community is a tribute to our common ethos. They have enriched and deepened our ties, and I thank them profoundly from the core of my heart," he added.

Showering praise on Obama, the prime minister said his journey to the White House had captured the imagination of millions and millions of people in India.

"You are an inspiration to all those who cherish the values of democracy, diversity, and equal opportunity," he told Obama and went on to hail his achievements by quoting Abraham Lincoln who had said, "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years."

On the Nobel Peace Prize given to Obama, Singh said he applauded the recognition by the Nobel Committee of the "healing touch you have provided and the power of your idealism and your vision".

Obama, on his part, said the bond between India and the US includes more than two million Indian-Americans who enrich every corner of the US — leaders in government, science, industry and the arts — "some of whom join us tonight".

"And it's the bond of friendship between a president and a prime minister who are bound by the same unshakeable spirit of possibility and brotherhood that transformed both our nations – a spirit that gave rise to movements led by giants like Gandhi and (Martin Luther) King, and which are the reason that both of us can stand here tonight," Obama said.

"As we draw upon these ties that bind our common future together, I want to close with the words that your first prime minister (Nehru) spoke at that midnight hour on the eve of Indian independence, because Nehru's words speak to our hopes tonight: 'The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the great triumphs and  achievements that await us...The past is over and it is the future that beckons us now'".

Raising the toast, the president said, "To the future that beckons all of us. Let us answer its call. And let our two great nations realise all the triumphs and achievements that await us."