By Arun Kumar
New York, Sep 23 (IANS) The promise of India-US partnership "looms bright and unmistakable" ahead of President Barack Obama's historic India visit, says a senior US official praising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his role in forging the relationship.
"As President Obama prepares for an historic state visit to India later this autumn, the promise of our partnership, built on strong bipartisan foundations in both our countries, looms bright and unmistakable," said Under Secretary of State William Burns here Tuesday.
"More than anyone else, it is Prime Minister Singh who has led the way in building our partnership," he said conveying the greetings of the US Government on the conferment of the 2010 World Statesman Award by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation on Manmohan Singh.
"History will also mark with special significance Prime Minister Singh's personal contributions to the emerging partnership between the world's oldest and largest democracies, America and India," Burns said.
"India's rise may be as consequential for international order, the future of the global economy and the promotion of human values as any other development in the new century unfolding before us, he said.
"Without any doubt, India's rise is deeply in the interests of the United States, and our stake in India's success grows more apparent as each day passes," Burns said.
Lauding Manmohan Singh's role, the official said: "He championed the historic civil nuclear agreement between us. His economic policies helped produce India's rise within our new G-20 world, and helped produce a doubling of US-India bilateral trade in just a few years.
"His promotion of closer educational links between us has borne tangible fruit; today there are 100,000 Indian students in the United States, more than from any other country.
"And Prime Minister Singh's advocacy of cooperation in high technology and science led to the recent launch of India's first unmanned lunar probe, which carried a NASA payload and discovered the presence of water molecules on the moon," he noted.
"Inspired and shaped by Prime Minister Singh's vision, US-India relations today offer a rare case in which even the sky is not the limit for our ambitions or our possibilities," Burns said.
Expressing the "deep feeling of respect and appreciation that all of us have" for Manmohan Singh Burns said: "The example of tolerance and decency and wisdom set by Prime Minister Singh will long endure, and let us all draw strength and inspiration from that extraordinary example for many years to come."