Bush looks forward to PM's visit

US President George W Bush has said he looks forward to meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week.

Receiving the credentials of the new Indian ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen, in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, Bush said Indo-US ties have been a priority for his administration.

The president appreciated the Indian government's commitment to the continued forward movement in bilateral ties and expressed confidence that under Singh's leadership, the relationship would be strengthened even further.

Sen reiterated New Delhi's desire to further strengthen the multi-faceted relations between India and the US, which, he pointed out, have entered "one of the most productive phases of engagement".

"India's emergence as a rising world power and its development into a market economy is significant to the region and the world," Bush said.