Obama and Singh stage key talks

Barack Obama with Indian PM Manmohan Singh at a reception for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace in London

The two sides say they want to build on warm relations

Indian PM Manmohan Singh has met US President Barack Obama for key talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London, officials say.

They said that the focus of the talks was on the president's new Afghan strategy and on ways of curbing terrorism in the South Asia region.

Mr Singh told the president that the two countries shared the "same dreams and the same vision".

The meeting was attended by large teams of officials from both sides.

Mr Singh only held one-to-one meetings with the president and the British PM at the summit.

Officials insist that this was because of time constraints and not because Mr Singh's poor health meant that he had to pursue a less rigorous schedule.

The PM has been recovering from heart by-pass surgery earlier this year.

Goodwill

President Obama paid tribute to India's "high stature" at the talks praising it for "unleashing powerful new economic forces which in large part were connected with the wisdom of Dr Singh".

He said that the US sees India as a "global partner" and together they could play a critical part in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

In October the US Congress ended India's three-decade-long nuclear isolation with an overwhelming Senate vote in favour of a civilian nuclear agreement with Delhi and officials say that Thursday's meeting will build on the goodwill that emanated from that.

The deal enabled US companies to sell nuclear reactors, fuel and technology to India after a ban of more than three decades on such trade.

It also marked a major shift in US foreign policy towards a country where relations in the past have been marked by mutual distrust.

The two leaders were accompanied by large delegations and discussed the possibility of greater Indian involvement in Afghanistan, following the announcement last week by the US leader of a new strategy for the country in which he placed great emphasis on "fighting a common enemy".