"As president I will work with India to make our strong friendship even stronger," Hillary Clinton promised earlier this year.

During the presidential campaign, Indian-Americans reciprocated Hillary Clinton's long-

standing embrace of India by giving generously - $2 million at a single fundraiser in New York in 2007.

At one point, the Obama camp prepared, but then disavowed, a campaign memo that carried the headline "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)," a mocking play on the standard reference to a candidates' party and constituency.

The memo, which created a furor in India and the Indian-American community, also referred to the Clintons' investments in India, Sen. Clinton's fundraising among Indian-Americans and the former president's $300,000 in speech fees from Cisco, a company that has moved US jobs to India.

Obama called the memo "a dumb mistake" and "not reflective of the long-standing relationship I have had with the Indian-American community."

Now as president-elect, Obama has chosen Hillary Clinton to be his chief diplomat and highlighted India and Pakistan as priorities for his administration.

"The situation in South Asia as a whole and the safe havens for terrorists that have been established there represent the single most important threat against the American people," he told reporters at a news conference Monday as he unveiled his foreign policy and national security team, including Hillary Clinton.