NEW DELHI, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- After U.S. President Barack Obama hosted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in White House on the first state visit of his presidency Tuesday, political analysts here said Wednesday that it is a "significant step" in relations between the two countries.

    According to the analysts, Singh's state visit to America heralds a new beginning for the Indo-U.S. relations and a window to work on pressing issues from economic dislocation, energy security, to climate change and the spread of deadly weapons and terrorism, particularly in South Asia.

    "The state visit shows that the U.S. can no longer afford to ignore India which is one of the fastest developing economies in the world. It clearly shows how much Washington values its improved relationship with New Delhi," said political expert Aay Singh.

    In fact, President Obama has praised the U.S. relationship with India as "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century" as he toasted a state dinner for 320 guests in honor of Singh.

    India and the U.S. have signed at least six Memoranda of Understanding on everything from counter-terrorism to education, health, agriculture and clean energy. But a crucial fuel reprocessing agreement that will operationalize the landmark Indo-U.S. nuclear deal has been left unsigned.

    According to political commentator S.K. Gupta, this is one of the two main things which India will be looking for -- it wants more clarity from the U.S. on nuclear technology transfer and fuel supplies as agreed under the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal when President George W. Bush was in office.

    "New Delhi is worried that the Obama administration may impose new conditions even pressuring it to sign the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which may force India to give up its nuclear weapons while Pakistan retains its. India will want the nuke pact to be operational as agreed," he said.

    Another area of major concern is the spread of terrorism in South Asia. In their joint statement, both Singh and Obama have strongly condemned the terrorists who operate from Pakistan, calling for bringing them to justice.

    "The forces of terrorism in our region pose a grave threat to the entire civilized world and have to be defeated. President Obama and I have decided to strengthen our cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism," the Indian PM said.

    The two leaders also announced a counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative to expand collaboration on counter-terrorism, information sharing, and capacity building.

    "To prevent future (Mumbai style) attacks, we agreed that our law enforcement and intelligence agencies will work even closer, including sharing more information," Singh said.

    Security expert Ravi Dawa said that terrorism is a major concern, not only in South Asia but also in the world.

    "By pledging to work together to eliminate terrorism on the eve of the first anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks last November, the U.S. has raised its relations with India to a new level," he said.

    Analysts believe the state visit is a sign of the rapidly warming relationship between the two countries, which had uneasy ties during the Cold War but which Obama has vowed to treat as a first-rate partner.

    "To be in specific, it's a significant step for bilateral relations," said political commentator S.K. Gupta.