'When Manmohan Singh Speaks, People Listen': When Barack Obama Praised Former PM Watch Video

(MENAFN- Live Mint) India's fourteenth Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, took his last breath in Delhi on Thursday, December 26. While critics refer to him as a 'silent' and even 'accidental' PM, several world leaders, including former US President Barack Obama, praised him for his visionary leadership.

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Barack Obama hailed Singh for his contribution to India's transformation into a market-based Indian economy through the 1991 Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG) reforms. He has hailed Singh several times on global platforms.

“When Dr. Manmohan Singh Speaks, World listens,” said former Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Toronto in June 2010. The video of the meeting of the two leaders was shared widely on social media.

In another video that is making rounds on the internet, Barack Obama mentions Manmohan Singh, when senior journalist Karan Thapar asks him about his opinion on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

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Reacting to the question on PM Modi, Barack Obama said,“I like him”. Later, he continued,“But I was also a good friend of Dr Singh”.

“When you look at the work Singh took to open up and modernise the economy and launch the foundations for the modern Indian economy. That's also important,” Barack Obama can be heard saying in the video.

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Dr Manmohan Singh was admitted to AIIMS Delhi on Thursday after he lost consciousness. His death was confirmed by AIIMS hospital in a social media post on December 26.

Manmohan Singh was an acclaimed thinker, economist and a scholar, who ushered in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms and steered the country for 10 years as the head of Congress-led UPA government, during which India witnessed a high growth rate.

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