PM, Obama meet ahead of formal talks

New Delhi: On the eve of their formal talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama had a meeting in New Delhi on Sunday during which the two leaders are understood to have taken stock of bilateral ties and ways to push these to higher levels of strategic partnership.

Singh and Obama had a one-on-one meeting for about 50 minutes before the private dinner hosted by the Prime Minister for the visiting leader and his wife Michelle at his 7, Race Course Road residence.

The two leaders are believed to have taken an overview of the bilateral relations, which have grown substantially over the last few years.

Singh and Obama, who will hold wide-ranging talks on Monday, are understood to have discussed ways in which the two countries could raise their cooperation to higher levels, particularly in economic, security, agriculture and science and technology.

The two sides will be issuing a joint statement on Monday which will outline new areas of cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels.

PM's Dinner for the Obamas

The guest list at 7, Race Course Road includes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's top cabinet colleagues, Bollywood personalities, captains of Indian industry and eminent sports persons. The extended guest list meant that the Prime Minister and his wife, Gursharan Kaur hosted  the Obamas on the lawns of their residence.

    * Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson
    * AK Antony, Defence Minister
    * Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister
    * P Chidambaram, Home Minister
    * S M Krishna, External Affairs Minister
    * Sharad Pawar, Agriculture Minister
    * Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary
    * L.K.Advani, Senior BJP Leader
    * Anand Sharma, Commerce Minister
    * Prithviraj Chavan, Minister in-charge of PMO
    * Salman Khursheed, Minister-in-waiting for Obama's visit
    * Timothy J Roemer, US Ambassador to India '
    * Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary
    * Dr Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission of India
    * Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro
    * Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons
    * Swati Piramal, ASSCOCHAM President
    * N Narayanamurthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys
    * Sunita Narain, Director, CSE
    * Aamir Khan,. Actor
    * Shabana Azmi, Actor
    * Javed Akhtar, Author & Lyricist
    * Vishwanathan Anand, Chess World Champion