Washington DC, Nov 24 (THAINDIAN NEWS) There was a grand reception to welcome the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Mrs Kaur to the White House. First Hilary Clinton, Mrs Kaur and the First Lady walked in along with other officials. Michelle Obama towered over the petite Mrs Kaur who was dressed graciously in a green silk saree.

The ceremony started a wee bit late at 9:23 am with the Indian anthem followed by the American counterpart. As soon as the American anthem began playing, Obama placed his hand on his chest as a mark of respect, Manmohan Singh seemed a bit lost over the appropriate gesture towards the American anthem.

Obama said that it was a great pleasure to welcome Manmohan Singh to the US. He said that both the countries were on a defining partnership for the 21st century. And both of them are also bold experiments in Democracy. He said that both the countries are driven and not dominating the other countries, along with being leading economies and both are also victims of terrorism.

He said that India is an influential global power and also called India as the leader in Asia and around the world. He also quoted Truman and Nehru in his speech.

Then Indian PM Manmohan Singh appreciated the warm welcome by the US. He said that he brings the warm greetings of 1 billion Indians to the US. He said that India and America are separated by distance but they are bound together by the rule of law. He said that he wanted to strengthen the multi faceted relations between both the countries.

He also said that India seeks to broaden and deepen the strategic partnerships between both the countries. He ended his speech with ‘God Bless America and God Bless India.’