Obama to visit India next year

Washington: US President Barack Obama has said he will visit India next year after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh extended a "gracious invitation" to him.

"India today is a rising and responsible global power. So I believe that the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century," Obama said at a joint press conference with the Indian Prime Minister after their delegation-level and one-on-one talks at the White House.

Describing 77-year-old Singh as a "wise leader" and a "man of honesty and integrity", the US President said, "I have happily accepted his gracious invitation to visit India next year."

Singh's trip, the first state visit of Obama administration, "reflects our admiration for the prime minister's leadership, the deep bonds between the peoples of the United States and India, and the historic opportunity we have to strengthen and broaden the partnership between our nations," Obama said.

This visit underscores the strengthening of that partnership, which he hopes will continue throughout his presidency, the 48-year-old leader said.