Compared to the South Lawn that can accommodate over 400 people, the East Room has a much smaller capacity which would obviously result in a very restricted and truncated ceremony for the visiting leader in terms of who all can get inside
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh Monday dismissed the controversy that arose over the joint statement issued by United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on the eve of his state visit to Washington, seemingly mooting a role for Beijing in resolving the India-Pakistan dispute, saying, "What happens between President Obama and President Hu is not our direct concern."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday acknowledged that there was tremendous pressure on him to retaliate militarily against Pakistan in the aftermath of 26/11, but said he's glad he exercised restraint.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said Monday that India has unambiguously said it's against Iran developing or acquiring nuclear weapons and that if the United Nations Security Council slaps sanctions against Tehran, it would support such action, but hoped United States President Obama's outreach to Iran on this issue would yield a compromise that doesn't necessitate such an outcome.
Foreign policy expert Dr Ashley J Tellis believes there are three fundamental objectives that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United States can accomplish.
'It is all Pakistan. They have not thought of bringing India into the biggest foreign policy crisis the US has had, which is Afghanistan and eventually Pakistan,' says South Asia expert Stephen P Cohen.
South Asia expert Christine Fair believes this week's Obama-Singh summit will accomplish little in terms of getting Pakistan to rein in terrorist groups using its soil to mount attacks on India.
"After six hectic years, particularly the last four of the Bush administration, the pace has been too scorching for both systems and so much had been done", hence there is need for pause, reflection and consolidation feels Dr C Raja Mohan.
US Congressman Ed Royce, a ranking Republican on the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee, has warned the Obama administration against undoing all the Bush administration's hard work in developing closer ties with India, by coveting China at the expense of New Delhi.
US experts believe it is imperative for Obama to "demonstrate that he recognises India's increasingly important role in the broader Asia region, and his interest in building a long-term strategic relationship. He must quell concern that India is a side issue for his administration, which has been consumed by Afghanistan and Pakistan and also heavily emphasising working with China."
Attempting to parse the symbolism and the substance of the summit between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a wasteful exercise, says former diplomat Teresita C Schaffer, currently Director of the South Asia Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 'Substance' takes time to achieve, and much of it is built on the bedrock of such 'symbolic' high level meetings, she argued.
Influential United States Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, the new Democratic co-chair of the reconstituted US Senate India Caucus, who took over from the erstwhile Senator and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in welcoming Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Washington, has said, "That President Obama chose the visit of Indian Prime Minister Singh as the occasion for the first State Dinner of his administration should come as no surprise."
Christine Fair, who infuriated New Delhi when she alleged that India was meddling in Balochistan, has been offered the India portfolio in the Obama administration.
The Obama administration has said that too much is being read into the joint United States-China statement issued by President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao in Beijing. The statement had irked the Indian administration on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US, as New Delhi perceived it as an attempt to interfere in the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan.
'You'll see during the course of this visit, we'll have some important deliverables to announce in the area of energy and climate change,' US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O Blake on the prime minister's journey to Washington, DC next week.
The United States Administration believes that the involvement of India and neighbouring countries in the security component of the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan will complicate the situation, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert O Blake has said.
US President Obama's move to name Robin Lynn Raphel as the administration's point person for disbursing non-military aid to Pakistan has generated as many questions.
The minister for Overseas Indian Affairs says he is aware of the problems expatriates face when they travel to India with their Overseas Citizen of India cards.
Dr Rajiv Shah, the senior-most Indian American in the Barack Obama administration, has been nominated as the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development -- the country's top foreign assistance programme.In nominating Shah, Obama said, "The mission of USAID is to advance America's interests by strengthening our relationships abroad. Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID."
Sheela Murthy, founder, president, and managing attorney of the Murthy Law Firm, has won the Philanthropist of the Year award from the United Way of Central Maryland for her $1 million gift to United Way, a large portion of the sum being marked to go to India.
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