A day after president Barack Obama announced his new Afghanistan-Pakistan policy and a troop surge in Afghanistan, the US today said it looks forward to working with India to rebuild the war-torn country.
US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer, who was in Washington during prime minister Manmohan Singh's state visit to the US, said Obama also sought Singh's "important" views on Afghanistan.
"After the the PM's very successful visit to Washington and before his statement on the new Af-Pak policy, the president also called the PM and they had a very good talk," Roemer told reporters at the US pavillion at a food expo here.
He said the president sought Singh's "very important" views on Afghanistan, "this shows how much respect the US has for the prime minister and his views on the region".
He said the issues of terrorism and global economy featured prominently during PM's visit to the US.
"We thank PM for his support in rebuilding Afghanistan — in the development work, in education and economy. We look forward to working with India on the issue... as also on agriculture and commerce," he said.
Roemer said there was scope for greater trade relations between India and the US in the agricultural sector.
"I am happy to know that agricultural trade has grown by 27% between India and the US in the past year. Nothing helps in strengthening ties more than food, as we all know this especially in India where we love food," he said.
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