Thursday, April 14 2005 21:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh today (Apr 14, 2005) had a 30-minute meeting with US President George W Bush who said he was "extremely excited" about the state of Indo-US relations.

Bush said he was "extremely excited" and "pleased" with the state of India-US relations, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters in Washington after the meeting.

Bush added that he was going to use the next four years of his second term to further strengthen these relations to take them to a "much higher level," Saran said.

The US President expressed admiration for India for the talents of its people and for its being a "flourishing democracy" of one billion people of different backgrounds.

He spoke about India as a global power with which the United States wants to work very closely together for the common good, for world peace, and for mutual economic benefit, Saran said.

In this context, the two discussed the issue of energy and Bush told Singh that both countries are going to be facing the challenges in this sector.

He said India and the United States need to work together in this particular area, which would include civilian nuclear cooperation.

According to Saran, Bush "could not wait" to visit India, and said he was looking forward to the trip hopefully within the year.

He also told Singh that he "very much looks forward" to receiving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the near future.

Natwar Singh, in his remarks drew attention to the fact that from his first day in office, even during his first term, President Bush was extremely focused on developing relations with India and had made a very personal commitment to taking these relations forward.

As a result, said Singh, Indo-US relations are "the best we have had for a very long time" and that India was looking forward to a much closer relationship between the two countries during Bush's second term.

The two leaders also spoke about the affinity that exists between the two countries as democracies, their commitment to democratic values and how this provides an excellent foundation for taking their relationship forward.

Saran described the meeting as an extremely warm and friendly meeting and a very productive one.

Those with Bush included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, the White House Chief of Staff and other key officials.

On the Indian side, Singh was accompanied by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen, Saran and others.

The very fact that it was a meeting in the Oval Office and not a "drop in" is regarded by observers as having high significance for the importance Bush attaches to Indo-US relations.