Obama's first state dinner goes to... Manmohan Singh

And the first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration goes to... India.

And the first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration goes to... India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is goingu00a0 to America for a state visit Novemer 24, just before Thanksgiving.
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Such visits include an elaborate arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, one-on-one time with the president and a state dinner.

It's a plum presidential nod of recognition for the world's largest democracy and most stable U.S. ally in a hostile corner of the world.

But why India first?

It was just four years ago that President George W. Bush and Singh raised their glasses and toasted the US-India relationship at the start of a July 2005 state dinner.

All Ears: Obama has called Singh 'very wise and decent'.

Indian officials, however, have watched warily since then as the US has become more engaged with Pakistan, focusing on greater military cooperation in dealing with Islamist extremists there and in neighboring Afghanistan.
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Honouring Singh with what is considered one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs 10 months into Obama's presidency may allay some of those concerns, along with perceptions that Pakistan has surpassed India as America's best friend in South Asia.

It also may be Obama's way of closing the loop with all the major US allies as his freshman year in office draws to a fast close.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hand-delivered the state-visit invitation from Obama during her July trip to India.

Singh, re-elected to a second term earlier this year, and Obama met on the sidelines of a London economic summit in April, and discussed cooperating on the economic downturn, climate change and counterterrorism.
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Obama later called him a "very wise and decent man."