US President Barack Obama on Tuesday warmly welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telling him that India was "indispensable" to a future "we want to build".

Obama and First Lady Michelle personally received Singh, the first State Guest of the 10-month-old Obama Administration, and his wife Gursharan Kaur at the White House.

"Yours is the first official state visit of my presidency, its fitting that you and India be so recognised," 48-year-old Obama told the 77-year-old Indian leader.

"We want to build a future in which India is indispensable," he said adding, "India and US can strengthen the global economic recovery."

"As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons," Obama said.

On his part, Singh said, "We should cooperate in addressing global challenges of combating terrorism, making our environment cleaner, and moving towards a world free of nuclear weapons."