Obama, Singh discuss future of Afghanistan, Pakistan

President Barack Obama said he and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have a shared interest in making sure that Afghanistan continues on its path to a peaceful democratic country, and that tensions are reduced in Pakistan. They both "share an interest in making sure that we help Afghans stand up for the rights of all groups inside of Afghanistan -- that the rights of women and minority groups are protected, and that the upcoming election happens in a way that maintains and continues to strengthen stability in that troubled country," the President said in a joint appearance following Oval Office meeting with Singh Friday. "And we had a chance to discuss Pakistan and our shared interest in seeing a peaceful reduction of tensions on the subcontinent," Obama said. "We want to very much thank Prime Minister Singh for what has been a consistent interest in improving cooperation between India and Pakistan." Singh said that he had explained to Obama the difficulties India faces because of the presence and focus of terrorists in Pakistan. Singh said he looks forward to meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, "even though the expectations have to be toned down given the terror arm which is still active in our subcontinent." Obama noted that the United States and India have made "enormous progress" on the issue of civilian nuclear power, "and in fact have been able to achieve just in the last few days an agreement on the first commercial agreement between a US company and India on civilian nuclear power." Singh said that outside the areas of trade technology and investment, India and the United States are exploring avenues of cooperation in new areas such as energy cooperation, clean-coal technology, energy-efficient technology and the environment, as well as in defense, security and intelligence gathering to stem terrorism.