'Barack Obama has utmost respect, admiration for Manmohan Singh'

President Barack Obama has utmost respect and admiration for the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the two leaders continue to have frequent exchanges in making sure that the two countries continue the momentum that has been generated, a top US official has said.

"We continue to very much look to our partnership with India to continue to develop even deeper ties. As you know, President Obama has the utmost respect and admiration for Prime Minister Singh, and they continue to have frequent exchanges in making sure that we continue the momentum that's been generated," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Mike Hammer, said.

"The very wonderful part about the evolution of the India-America partnership is that it really began with President (Bill) Clinton and has continued on through the administration of President (George) Bush, and now accelerated under President Obama," Hammer said in response to a question at a news briefing with foreign journalists.

The Obama Administration continues to have excellent cooperation with its Indian counterparts on a full range of issues, he said. 

"We try to engage them as much as possible because we believe that India is an important partner, certainly it is the world's largest democracy, it is one that can contribute greatly to addressing the world challenges that we face today as a global community," Hammer said.

The US official said it has been very clear over the past week in terms of America's concerns and its efforts to encourage the Pakistani Government to take action against the Haqqanis.

"We will continue to press them to do that," he said. "We recognise that Pakistan itself has made some incredible sacrifices in fighting extremist militants, but this is one area where we need to see more.

It is critical for the good of Pakistan and obviously for the interests of the United States that more efforts are undertaken to go after the Haqqani Network," Hammer said.

"It is an issue that Secretary Clinton has raised and that others have raised as well in the recent days, because it is something that is of utmost importance to us," he said.

"From the outset of this Administration, President Obama and Secretary Clinton have been working tirelessly to advance America’s leadership, to renew it, and to make sure that we're working, as has been noted, with our international partners to address the common challenges that we face as a global community," he said.