India is not stealing US jobs: PM Singh

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said India was not in the business of stealing jobs from the United States.

Singh's remarks came at a joint news conference with visiting U.S. president Barack Obama.

Obama's trip to India is aimed to seal big-ticket business deals to secure jobs and exports as well as countering Indian perceptions he has relegated Asia's third-largest economy behind rivals China and Pakistan.

During a 10-day trip to Asia that will also take him to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, Obama will push to resolve global financial imbalances, an issue he will make a focus of debate at next week's G20 heads of state meet in Seoul.

Earlier after the meeting with the US President Obama, Manmohan said India and the United States will work as a "equal partners" in a strategic relationship to promote global peace and stability in the 21st century.

"We have decided to accelerate the deepening of ties to work as equal partners in a strategic relationship," Singh said after talks with visiting US President Barack Obama.