Obama Welcomes Singh on Visit Showing India’s Stature (Update1)

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was welcomed to the White House this morning by President Barack Obama for a state visit where the two leaders will have discussions on curbing nuclear weapons, climate change and trade.

Obama and Singh, head of the world’s largest democracy, are scheduled to hold more than an hour of private talks in the Oval Office. The Indian prime minister will be the guest of honor tonight at a state dinner, the first of Obama’s presidency.

Obama called the ties between the U.S. and India “one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.”

“Your visit at this pivotal moment in history speaks to the opportunity before us to build the relationship between our nations” Obama said, drawing comparisons between the U.S. and India as “two economic marvels fueled by an ethic of hard work and innovation.”

Singh said India and the U.S. are bound together by democracy, “rule of law and respect for fundamental human freedoms.”

Upon arrival, the two leaders walked on red carpet side-by- side into the East Room of the White House, where the event was held because rain forced cancellation of a planned outdoor ceremony. A military band played the national anthem of each country. The stature given the visit is a sign of the importance the U.S. places on its relationship with the world’s second- fastest growing large economy, diplomats said.

India Rising

“It’s no coincidence that the first state visit of the Obama presidency will come from India,” said William Burns, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs. “A rising India is an essential part of the peaceful and prosperous world that the United States seeks in the 21st century.”

The prominence of Indian-Americans will be on display at the dinner, with guests including Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and PepsiCo Co. Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi.

Current and former diplomats highlighted the personal ties that exist between the U.S. and India, such as the 100,000 Indian students attending U.S. universities. Half of all specialized employment visas issued by the State Department go to Indians.

Personal Links

“There’s a human element” to the relationship, said Evan Feigenbaum, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for India who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “This human dimension, I think, makes the relationship in some ways, it gives it a momentum.”

Both nations have been buffeted by the global financial crisis. Singh said the Indian economy is expected to grow 6.5 percent in the year ending March 31. So far this year, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, has climbed 72 percent.

The U.S. is one of India’s largest trading partners, with exports from India totaling $25.7 billion last year and imports from the U.S. of $17.7 billion, according to the Department of Commerce.

India’s $1.2 trillion economy has provided development sites for companies like Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker.

U.S. defense companies like Boeing, Bethesda, Maryland- based Lockheed Martin Corp. and Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. have been lobbying the Indian government to raise India’s restriction on foreign direct investment in India’s defense industry to 49 percent from the current 26 percent.

Greater trade ties between the two nations could benefit companies like Chicago-based Boeing Co. and Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric Co.

Climate Change

Also on the agenda today will be climate change, where the Obama administration has been pushing the world’s fourth-biggest polluter to agree to binding emissions curbs.

Singh has said India isn’t ready to set an emission- reduction target, as the nation still has a per-capita output of greenhouse gasses far lower than that of developed countries. Last night, he called negotiations on the climate treaty “more difficult than we would have liked.”

“It’s very important that India be part of this new agreement” on climate change, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake said in a briefing with reporters on Nov. 18.

Nuclear Dilemma

Also, India remains a nuclear power that hasn’t signed treaties limiting the testing of nuclear weapons and the production of nuclear materials.

Singh said negotiations on agreements to curb the creation of materials for nuclear weapons will be “a significant contribution” to preventing the spread of nuclear arms.

Some tensions between the countries remain, especially concerning Pakistan, a U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic extremists that is also a regional rival of India.

Lawmakers and diplomats downplayed concerns that the state visit could strain U.S. relations with Pakistan. Nadeem Kiani, press attaché for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, said the state visit wouldn’t have a “negative affect.”

“This is what diplomacy is all about,” said Representative Jim McDermott, the Democratic co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. “This is not any kind of a slap at Pakistan.”

Lavish Dinner

Though Obama has met with numerous foreign leaders at the White House during his nine months in office, the pomp and circumstance surrounding this state visit will be different.

After formally greeting Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, this morning at the White House, the president and Michelle Obama will host a lavish dinner this evening on the South Lawn.

Congressman Edward Royce, the Republican co-chairman of the Congressional caucus on India who attended the state dinner for Singh hosted by President George W. Bush in 2005, said the events are a way of gaining “worldwide exposure” for a country’s relationship with an important ally.

“The Indian government and the people of India are going to be very appreciative,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net; Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net