Describing India as an emerging global power and an ally, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [Images] says Washington has a vital stake in New Delhi's rise.

'India stands on the frontlines of globalisation. This democratic nation promises to become a global power and an ally in shaping an international order rooted in freedom and the rule of law,' Rice said after noting that Indo-US relations have experienced a dramatic breakthrough during the eight years of  the Bush administration.

'The United States has a vital stake in India's rise to global power and prosperity, and relations between the two countries have never been stronger or broader,' Rice says in an article in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington think-tank.

'It will take continued work, but this is a dramatic breakthrough for both our strategic interests and our values,' she says. Penning her thoughts on foreign policy pursued by the George W Bush [Images] administration during the last eight years, Rice says Washington has placed importance to building strong relations with existing global players as well as emerging. With those, particularly India and Brazil [Images], the United States has built deeper and broader ties, Rice said.

On Brazil, Rice said the country's success at using democracy and markets to address centuries of pernicious social inequality has global resonance. 'Today, India and Brazil look outward as never before, secure in their ability to compete and succeed in the global economy.'