Washington: US President George W Bush has said he was looking forward to his next week meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and stressed that America shared the goal of working together with India to make the "strategic partnership" broader and deeper.

Receiving the credentials of the new Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen in the Oval Office of the White House yesterday (Sep 15, 2004), Bush said development of close relations between America and India has been a high-priority goal since the beginning of his Administration.

Welcoming the Ambassador to Washington, the President appreciated the public commitment of the Government of India to the continued forward movement in bilateral ties and expressed confidence that under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's leadership, the relationship will be strengthened even further.

Bush also stressed expansion of Indo-US cooperation in civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programmes, high technology trade and dialogue on missile defence.

Sen reiterated the desire of the new Indian Government to further strengthen the multi-faceted relations between India and the United States, which, he pointed out, have entered "one of the most productive phases of engagement".