Toyako: Unfazed by the political turmoil in India, a confident Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday discussed “progress” on the Indo-US nuclear agreement with President George W Bush. The US president said the deal is important for both the countries and heaped praise on Singh “for his leadership at home”.

The two leaders spoke in unison on strengthening the bilateral “strategic relationship” as Singh took a two-hour drive from Sapporo to meet Bush in the hot springs resort of Hotel Windsor on Mt Poromoi on the sidelines of the G-8 summit. The two leaders met hours before the Left parties were to formally withdraw support to the UPA government on the nuclear deal.

“Our relationship with the United States has never been in such good shape as it is today.... And it is the intention of my government... whether it is a question of climate change... global economy, India and US must stand tall, stand shoulder to shoulder, and that's what is going to happen,” Singh said after the 50-minute meeting that stretched beyond the scheduled time.

Both Singh and Bush expressed mutual admiration for each other and spoke of the need for closer relationship between the two countries. “We talked about the India-US nuclear deal and how important it is for our respective countries,” Bush said as the two leaders appeared before the press in a relaxed mood and displayed personal warmth.

“I respect the Prime Minister a lot. I also respect India a lot, and I think it's very important that the United States continues to work with our friends to develop not only a new strategic relationship, but a relationship that addresses some of the world's problems,” the President said.

Source : IANS