Congrats on your leadership, Bush tells Manmohan

Even as Govt battled with political fallout of nuclear deal, PM Manmohan Singh discussed the 'progress' with George Bush.

Even as the government battled with the political fallout of the nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday discussed the 8216;progress8217; on the agreement with the US President George W Bush who praised him for his 8216;leadership at home8217;.

8220;It was a really good meeting amongst two friends. And so, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for joining us today, and congratulations on your leadership at home,8221; Bush said during an extended 50-minute meeting which took place hours before the Left parties formally withdrew support to the UPA government in New Delhi.

The two leaders spoke in unison on strengthening the bilateral 8216;strategic relationship8217; after Singh drove more than 100 km from Sapporo at dawn to meet Bush at Hotel Windsor on the picturesque Mt Poromoi in Japan8217;s Hokkaido island, where the G-8 leaders are meeting for their annual summit.

The body language of the two leaders, the warm handshake they exchanged and highly appreciative words they used for each other clearly reflected the commitment both sides have in seeing the nuclear deal go through fast, given the time constraints.

8220;We talked about the nuclear deal8211;how important that is for our respective countries,8221; was all Bush said in clear reference to the agreement the two leaders had reached on civilian nuclear agreement in July 2005.

Bush described the meeting 8216;as a conversation among friends8217; and added, 8220;I respect the Prime Minister a lot. I also respect India a lot. I think it8217;s very important that the United States continues to work with our friend to develop not only a new strategic partnership, but a relationship that addresses some of the world8217;s problems.8221;

At the joint press meet with Bush, the Prime Minister spoke of the 8216;progress8217; made between the two countries in several areas including nuclear, defence, space and education.

Story continues below this ad

Reciprocating US President8217;s compliments, Singh praised Bush8217;s 8216;magnificent8217; contribution to the bilateral relationship between the two countries which, he said, had moved 8216;handsomely8217; forward in all areas since their first meeting in July, 2005.

8220;Our relationship has never been in such good shape as it is today. It is the intention of my government, as I believe it is also the will of the Indian people particularly the thinking segments of the people that in this increasingly interdependent world that we live in whether it is the question of climate change or managing the global economy India and US must work together shoulder to shoulder, and that is what is going to happen8221;.

Singh said the two countries were working together in multilateral institutions for the success of the Doha round of WTO negotiations.

8220;And I am very pleased with the state of our relationship, which has truly acquired the characteristic of a genuine strategic partnership,8221; he said after the meeting but the two leaders did not take any questions.8221;

Story continues below this ad

The Singh-Bush meeting came on the day the Left parties finally pulled the plug on the nuclear issue after the Prime Minister said that India will 8216;very soon8217; approach the UN atomic watchdog IAEA for a safeguards agreement, a step crucial to operationalising the deal.

Bush said the two had discussed how the their countries could work together to grow each other8217;s economies and at the same time be responsible towards environment.