26 March,2009 04:10 PM IST | | PTI
US President Barack Obama looks forward to advancing and strengthening US ties with India, White House spokesman has said, setting a positive tone for the maiden meeting between Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in London on April 2.
Developments in Pakistan and the Taliban problem in Afghanistan are expected to figure during their talks.
"The President looks forward to working with the Prime Minister to advance and strengthen the US-India bilateral relationship," Benjamin Chang, Deputy Spokesman, National Security Council, White House, said.
Obama will meet Singh on April 2 in London on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit.
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"This will be the President's first meeting with Prime Minister Singh and the two leaders will discuss a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategic review, climate change, and the world economy," Chang said.
Singh is one of the few world leaders with whom Obama would be meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
Obama assumed office as the 44th US President on January 20.
Early this week, in the first public speech on India from a top Obama administration official, the Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg had said both President and the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are committed to expanding relationship with India.
