Washington, DC:
In a break from protocol, United States President Barack Obama added his personal touch to the strategic talks between India and Pakistan when he drove down to a reception hosted for External Affairs Minister SM Krishna by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday.
"Good evening, everyone. Namaste," he greeted the guests.
The gesture is being looked at as Obama's way to try and allay New Delhi's fears that it is being relegated to playing second fiddle to Washington's preoccupations with Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.
"I said then that India is a leader in Asia and around the world. It's a rising power and a responsible global power. That's why I firmly believe that the relationship between the United States and India will be a defining partnership in the 21st century," Obama said.
New Delhi's criticism of the US' selective approach to counter-terrorism, cracking down on terror groups like the Al-Qaida and the Taliban in Pakistan's border with Afghanistan but not as much on the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) on Pakistan's border with India, had clearly reached the US President's ears.
"We're cooperating more closely than ever before against transnational threats. This includes, as Minister Krishna alluded to, making progress for the Afghan people and preventing terrorism, whether it's in Manhattan or in Mumbai," Obama said.
The Indo-US strategic partnership is clearly on course, but short term irritants like access to David Coleman Headley and the US' boosting of military aid to Pakistan are emblematic of the challenges the world's oldest and largest democracies face in reaching a common understanding on most issues.