India, US set to be leading economies: Summers

India and the United States are poised to be two of the largest economies of the world, according to Lawrence Summers, assistant to the US president for economic policy and director of the White House national economic council.

''India is respected in the comity of nations and the way it engages in global issues is very important to the US. India has a major role in the G-20,'' Summers said while addressing a round-table conference organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Summers is in the country ahead of president Barack Obama's India visit slated for 6 November, and his comments come before the G-20 leaders' summit in Seoul on 11-12 November.

''India and the US are going to be two of the largest economies of the world. We believe in profound education of scientific innovative thought. The United States of America is a mature nation which has been a superpower for close to a century now, and we consider India as our partner in global economic integration,'' he said.

Calling Obama's visit a celebration of heads of government, young people, and non-governmental organisations, he said that it was a very different kind of engagement from what is usually seen.

The US sees India as an important partner in supporting the global framework that encourages macro-economic cooperation, reduction of state-sponsored terrorism, and support global economic integration and cooperation, he said.