'True Statesman': US President Joe Biden Pays Tribute To Manmohan Singh

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a "true statesman" and a "dedicated public servant," US President Joe Biden said Friday as he expressed his deepest condolences on Singh's passing.

"He (Singh) was a kind and humble person...Jill and I send our deepest condolences to former First Lady Gursharan Kaur, their three children, and all the people of India," they said in a statement.

Biden said that the unprecedented level of cooperation between the United States and India today would not have been possible without the former prime minister's strategic vision and political courage.

Singh, the prime minister between 2004 and 2014, and architect of India's economic liberalisation, passed away at the age of 92 on Dec. 26. He studied economics at both Oxford and Cambridge universities, is the only Indian to have served as central bank governor, finance minister and prime minister.

"From forging the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement to helping launch the first Quad between Indo-Pacific partners, he charted pathbreaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations- and the world-for generations to come," US President said.

Biden remembered his meeting with Singh on multiple instances. The US President met Singh as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2008 and as Vice President during his Official State Visit to the United States in 2009.

He (Singh) also "graciously" hosted me in New Delhi in 2013, Biden said in the statement. "As we discussed then, the U.S.-India relationship is among the most consequential in the world. And together, as partners and friends, our nations can unlock a future of dignity and unlimited potential for all of our people."

"During this difficult time, we recommit to this vision to which Prime Minister Singh dedicated his life," Biden said.

The last rites of former prime minister Manmohan Singh would be performed at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday with full State honours as the nation united in paying rich tributes to the departed leader at his residence a day after his death.