India PM begins landmark US visit

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is due to hold talks with US President George W Bush on the opening day of a landmark visit to the country. The two leaders are expected to focus on terrorism, trade, investment and collaboration on technology.

However, there are no signs that Washington is prepared to support a campaign to include India in a reformed United Nations Security Council.

During the talks India is hoping to strike a deal on ways to share nuclear technology, which correspondents say Washington has been reluctant to agree because of India's refusal to join international nuclear non-proliferation treaties.

But there are indications that Mr Bush will invite India to join in some international nuclear research projects.

"In my meetings with President Bush, I look forward to a comprehensive review of our bilateral relations. The United States is our largest trading partner," Mr Singh said before flying out of India.

"Accelerated economic cooperation, relating to trade investment and technology collaboration is a primary objective. We hope to enhance the content of our interactions in the field of space and civilian nuclear energy cooperation," he said.

Analysts say Mr Singh's three day-visit to the US is expected to lead to a deeper and broader strategic partnership between the two countries.

Indian newspapers are calling Mr Singh's visit "historic" - and "waiting for some history to be made".

"The two countries have certainly come a long way. But they are yet to reach that elusive political destination that allows them to cooperate on nuclear energy and non-proliferation, think together about the future stability of Pakistan and Afghanistan and construct a new balance of power in Asia and the world," The Indian Express newspaper said.

"If Singh and Bush decide tomorrow to travel down that road together, the meeting might well merit the label, 'historic."

The two men are also likely to discuss a pipeline project taking gas from Iran to India via Pakistan.

The US has raised objections to the project because of its opposition to the current government in Tehran.

During his three-day stay, Mr Singh is also due to meet senior members of Mr Bush's cabinet, including vice- president Dick Cheney as well as leading figures from the Indian-American community.

The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of issues

India seeks new chapter in US ties***……. Singh is visiting the White House at a time when his nation is receiving unprecedented attention from world leaders as a result of its expanding economy and also because of growing unease in some capitals at the strategic implications of China's rise.

India now has "strategic-level" dialogues with China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the European Union.

"People are looking at India ... because it is strong. That is why this desire for engagement," Saran said.

While his foreign policy options are widening by the day, Singh's visit is taking place against a domestic background of increasing tension over policy with communist backers of his minority government.

India's leading communist parties have warned him against moving too closely into Washington's embrace.***

Big Night In (Bushes Set the Table for a Rare Treat; Official Banquet for India PM Manmohan Singh)***There's a big black-tie dinner at the White House tonight. President Bush will don a tuxedo and might even stay up past 10. This is, as they say in Texas, rarer than hen's teeth.

The dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (technically an "official" instead of "state" dinner because Singh is head of government but not the state) is notable as one of the few grand parties of this administration. The White House has hosted only four state dinners since Bush took office in 2001; the last one was held in October 2003 for the president of Kenya. It's a big deal for India, and for the White House.

"The symbolic and the diplomatic importance of an event like this is inversely proportional to the frequency," says former deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott. "The less often they happen, the more important they are."

State dinners were traditionally the most sought-after invitation in Washington, the gold-plated stamp of diplomatic and social approval. World leaders routinely got the red-carpet treatment until 2001, when Bush began substituting informal lunches for black-tie dinners. The first lady hinted earlier this year that she intended to host more stately events during the second term and hired a new social secretary (but no new chef yet). But nothing has changed, and if the next four years look anything like the past four years, formal entertaining at this White House is a thing of the past.................***

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