Obama talks up US economic benefits from India visit

Barack Obama has attempted to reach out to voters who deserted the Democrats in the midterm elections at the start of his longest foreign tour, announcing a $10bn (£6.18bn) trade deal with India that he said would pay for 54,000 US jobs. Intent on demonstrating his attention to the sluggish US economy even while overseas, the president unveiled new export rules to make it easier for the US to trade with India. "As we look to India today the United States sees the opportunity to sell our exports in one of the fastest growing markets in the world. For America this is a jobs strategy," the president said in a speech to the US-India Business Council. The emphasis on job creation is a reminder that Obama cannot leave his domestic troubles behind him during the visit. The issue was the number one concern of voters in Tuesday's disastrous midterms. "There is no reason this nation can't be one of our top trading partners," Obama said. The US would seek to relax controls on India's purchase of "dual use" technologies that could be put to civilian or military ends. The commercial deals he announced include the purchase of 33 737s from Boeing by India's SpiceJet Airlines, the Indian military's plans to buy aircraft engines from General Electric, and preliminary agreement between Boeing and the Indian air force on the purchase of 10 C17 transport planes. Most of the deals were already pending but the White House contends Obama's visit to India helped seal them. Officials said the deals would support 53,670 US jobs but it was not clear how many, if any, new jobs would be created. The president left Washington shortly after the government reported that the economy added 151,000 jobs in October. It was not sufficient to lower the 9.6% jobless rate and the president said it was not good enough. The White House is going to great lengths to bring attention to the economic potential and shared democratic values that define its relationship with India and its 1.2bn people. Obama addressed the business leaders shortly after arriving in Mumbai, where his first stop was at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel to commemorate the 2008 terror attacks that killed 166 people across the city. Paying tribute to the victims, Obama said India and the US were united against terrorism. He intended to send a signal by making Mumbai the first stop on his tour, which will take in India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, and by staying at the Taj. All 570 rooms have been booked, with an entire floor set aside for the president. The seafront outside the hotel has been a high security zone for several days. "We'll never forget," said Obama. "The United States and India stand united." He spoke after meeting privately with relatives of those killed in the attack and also signed a memorial book, writing: "The United States stands in solidarity with all of Mumbai and all of India in working to eradicate the scourge of terrorism." Indian commentators quickly seized on the fact that the president did not mention Pakistan – the home of the 10 terrorists behind the attacks. India has raised concerns about the billions of dollars in military aid that the US is funnelling to India's neighbour and arch-rival, a linchpin for Washington and its allies in the war in Afghanistan. The Obamas visited a museum in a former home of Mahatma Gandhi. The president wrote in the guest book that Gandhi "is a hero not just to India but to the world". Michelle Obama played hopscotch, danced and sang with 33 disadvantaged children for an Indian charity at the University of Mumbai.