Manmohan Singh invites Obama to India

In India, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh is hopeful that President Obama would strenghten the Indo-US bond. Singh also extended an invite to Barack ObamaBarack Obama to travel to India. This amidst fears that Obama's foreign policy pronouncements may hurt India.

The Prime Minister said, "I have great pleasure in conveying my heartiest congratulations on your election as the President of the United States. I hope you will find an opportunity to visit India soon. A warm welcome awaits you."

India today greeted Barack Obama on his election as the 44th US President with the government and political parties hoping to further strengthen relationswith the world's oldest democracy. President Pratibha PatilPratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent congratulatory messages to the 47-year-old Obama and invited him to visit India "as soon as possible".

Students, professionals and politicians welcomed the election of the US' first African-American President as "historic" and said they looked forward to heralding of an era of a "less confrontational" America. The Indian industry, particularly the software sector, hailed the victory of the first-time Illinois Senator and played down fears of an adverse impact on the flourishing outsourcing business.

"Your extraordinary journey to the White House will inspire people not only in your country but also around the world," Singh said in his message to Obama, who rose from a small-time community worker to become the most powerful man in the world.

"We look forward to strengthening the partnership between India and the US and continuing the close engagement that we have developed in recent years both in bilateral cooperation and in addressing global issues of common concern," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.

Obama's extraordinary journey to the White House drew cheers from political parties of all hue, including the Left and the Right. Congress, BJP and Left parties termed Obama's victory as historic.

Democrat Barack Obama wrote his name indelibly into the pages of American history on Tuesday (Nov 4), engineering a social and political upheaval to become the country's first black president-elect in a runaway victory over Republican John McCainJohn McCain.

Obama won the US Presidential poll by securing 338 electoral college votes against 159 of McCain out of a total 538 after an epic 21-month-long campaign in the most expensive-ever election.

Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, will be sworn in as the 44th US president on January 20, 2009. He will face a crush of immediate challenges, including easing the economic crisis, ending the war in Iraq and striking a compromise on overhauling the health care system.