The Union Cabinet on Wednesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inviting U.S. President Barack Obama as the chief guest for the 66th Republic Day celebrations and said that this visit has enhanced India's respect globally.
"The members of the Union Cabinet congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the initiative to invite U.S. President Obama and making this visit a successful one. We congratulate the Prime Minister as India's respect enhanced globally during this visit," Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
"The Cabinet felt that after a long time America recognized India on standards of parity as far as an important global power is concerned," he added.
The Union Minister also said that the U.S. President's acceptance of Prime Minister Modi's invitation itself indicated the warmth and intimate bonding between the two leaders.
Obama became the first U.S. President to attend India's Republic Day celebrations. Obama, who had earlier in 2010 also visited India, became the first U.S. President to visit the country twice while in office.
