Obama to meet PM in Bali on Nov 18: White House

Washington, Nov 10 (PTI) US President Barack Obama would meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Bali, Indonesia, on November 18 on the sidelines of the East Asia summit, a top presidential aide said. Meeting for the first time in about a year, the two leaders are expected to review the progress of the bilateral ties since Obama's visit to India last November; besides discussing a wide range of issues including Afghanistan, economic ties and security relationship, the official said. "India, of course, as a rapidly growing economy, as a strong democracy and as an important security partner and counterterrorism partner in South Asia, is a very important relationship to the United States," Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, told reporters during an off camera briefing at the White House on Wednesday. "He (Obama) and Prime Minister Singh have not had the chance to meet in some time. They'll have the ability to discuss regional developments, to discuss Afghanistan, to discuss our deepening economic and commercial ties with India, as well as to discuss the East Asia Summit," Rhodes said. Observing that the Obama Administration values its relationship with India, the White House official said the country plays an important role in the Asia Pacific region. Rhodes said the US "has been an anchor of security in Asia-Pacific since World War II, essentially." He went on to add that the "core of that is our alliances with Australia, Korea, Japan and several other countries," but "from the beginning of this administration (it has) engaged the emerging powers in Asia-Pacific, China and India, Indonesia and others, as well as engaged regional institutions like APEC and the East Asia Summit that the president will be participating in". PTI