Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama on being awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize and praised his approach to problem-solving.
“The world today is in need of a healing touch. Your pursuit of an inclusive approach to problem-solving, and primacy to dialogue as an instrument of policy are setting new benchmarks for the world community. I am confident that the world will be the better for it,” Dr. Singh said in his congratulatory message .
The citation for the Prize, he said, admirably reflects President Obama’s personal qualities of leadership and the new perspectives he brought to bear on the conduct of relations between different countries and cultures, and on some of today’s most burning issues.
Peace and non-violence, he said, are part of India’s ethos and President Obama’s recent statement that the America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi therefore has a particularly evocative resonance in India.
Dr. Singh said he looked forward to working with Mr. Obama to advance the goals of a more secure, equitable and just world. He extended his best wishes for his success as the President of the United States of America.
Congratulating Mr. Obama, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the award was a recognition of his unique contribution to the world.
