Obama aims to reassure Singh on US-India ties

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WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters): President Barack Obama hosts Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday for talks considered critical to showing Washington's commitment to New Delhi in a region where its rivals, China and Pakistan, are US priorities.
Obama's challenge will be to ease the emerging Asian power's concerns that it is slipping down his foreign policy agenda, dominated recently by efforts to craft a new war plan in Afghanistan and curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.
India hopes for a clear message from Obama that he intends to sustain momentum in improving diplomatic and economic ties that deepened under his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Seeking to reassure Singh of the importance Obama places on India, the prime minister will be honored with the first state visit of the 10-month-old US administration, complete with the pomp and ceremony of a formal White House dinner.
The US-India summit will focus heavily on efforts to enhance economic links that have blossomed since India's market reforms in the early 1990s. Two-way trade grew to nearly $50 billion last year from just $5 billion in 1990, turning the United States into India's largest trading partner.