New Delhi, May 24: External affairs minister K. Natwar Singh today assured US secretary of state Colin Powell that he looked forward to “further deepening and enhancing” bilateral relations, allaying fears that the strengthening of ties between Delhi and Washington may become a casualty under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

Powell, who called up Singh to congratulate him on assuming office, expressed a desire to work closely with him. This was matched by the foreign minister, who expressed satisfaction at the “excellent” bilateral ties between the US and India.

Singh recalled his recent meeting with Powell — when the latter had called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi during a trip to India — and said he looked forward to working with the US secretary of state to enhance bilateral relations.

A similar assurance was given to British foreign secretary Jack Straw, who was the first among the foreign dignitaries to call and congratulate Singh.

The US and the UK were exceptions. Soon after assuming office, a little after mid-day, Singh assured Pakistan, China and all other neighbours that the new government in Delhi wanted good relations with them. The foreign minister said it would be the endeavour of the new government to have “closest relations” with the US, the European Union, Russia, China, Japan and all countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations, the Islamic world, Africa, south of the Saharas, the Caribbean and Latin America.

For the 73-year old Singh, who had served as the junior foreign minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government, it was a return to South Block after 16 years. But the memories of the ministry, and especially the Indian Foreign Service which he had joined in 1953, have a special significance for Singh who had served as a diplomat in various capacities at several key missions.

When he arrived at South Block around 12.30 pm, foreign secretary Shashank and his two junior ministers E. Ahmed and Rao Inderjit Singh were there to receive him. Flanked by Ahmed and Inderjit, the new foreign minister entered his office and soon after had a brief interaction with the media.

Singh described Indo-US ties as multifaceted and said, as two great democracies, “it is in our interest, it is in their interest and the interest of the world community that relations between India and the US should be on a steady course and not episodic”.

The minister said India’s relations with China were “problem-free except for the border question” but pointed out that a mechanism was already in place to address this. He said he looked forward to “intensifying” relations with China.

Singh did not miss the opportunity, however, to point out that the breakthrough in relations between India and China had taken place in 1988 during Rajiv Gandhi’s historic visit to Beijing when he was part of Rajiv’s delegation.

The minister indicated that any dramatic change in the foreign policy from the one pursued by the previous government is unlikely. He pointed out that the framework, broad approach and national consensus on foreign policy have survived for the past 57 years.