The United States and India, geographically separated by long distance, are embracing politically an unprecedented strategic partnership following talks between US President Barack Obama and visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The US-India summit at the White House on Tuesday is the first of its kind since Obama took office in January. Attaching great importance to Singh's "first official state visit" to the United States in his presidency, Obama said the latest American trip by the Indian premier reflects the deep bonds between the peoples of the United States and India.

Strategic partnership

The phrase "strategic partnership," used by both Obama and Singh when describing the US-New Delhi relations, is not something new since George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor, sponsored to sign with Singh a civil nuclear agreement with India.

In fact, since Bush took office in 2001, the United States and India have made dramatic steps toward forging a strategic partnership.

The demonstration of the change was that the Bush administration and Singh's government signed the civilian nuclear agreement when Bush visited New Delhi in March 2006. Under the deal, India agreed to separate its civilian and military nuclear programs, allowing international scrutiny for the bulk of its power stations to ensure nonproliferation.

Although the agreement has been disputed by both US and Indian critics, Washington and New Delhi are seeing their relationship closer than ever before.

"I reaffirmed to the prime minister my administration's commitment to fully implement the US-India civil nuclear agreement which increases American exports and creates jobs in both countries," Obama told reporters after talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Comprehensive cooperation

Speaking to media, Obama hailed India's sustained efforts for democracy, saying "We're the world's two largest democracies. We have a range of shared values and ideals."