Congratulating Manmohan Singh for his second term as the Prime Minister of India, US President Barack Obama on Thursday said Singh is a very wise leader whom he respects and is looking forward to visit New Delhi at an early date.

Obama said this to the new Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, at his Oval Office in the White House.

Shankar presented her credentials to the US President as the top Indian diplomat in the US.

During the brief credential ceremony, Obama conveyed his felicitations on the recent elections in India. He said that Singh is a very wise leader whom he respects. Obama said he is looking forward to visiting India at an early date.

Shankar conveyed the greetings from Indian President Pratibha Patil and the Prime Minister to the US President and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The envoy said that she was looking forward to strengthen the strategic partnership between India and the United States.

Succeeding Ronen Sen, whose term ended on March 31 this year, Shankar arrived in the US April 26. She was earlier serving as the Indian Ambassador to Germany. A 1973-batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, Shankar has held several important assignments, including her stint as the Minister Commerce at the Indian Embassy in Washington from 1991 to 1995. She served as Director in the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi from 1985 to 1991.

She also headed the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) overseeing country's cultural diplomacy.

Shankar has headed two important divisions in the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and relations with Nepal and Bhutan.

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