James L Jones in Delhi on Friday. (Rajesh Kumar)

New Delhi, June 26: US national security adviser James L. Jones met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning and forwarded an invite from President Barack Obama to visit the White House this autumn.

A US embassy statement hoped that a trip by Singh would help continue the discussions he and Obama had during the G20 meeting in London, focusing on the “global economic situation, trade, energy and climate change, and regional security”.

Jones, who is on his first India visit, also met his Indian counterpart M.K. Narayanan, defence minister A.K. Antony and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon.

Narayanan and Jones discussed Afghanistan, Pakistan, post-poll Iran and the fight against terrorism. The Indian stressed that Islamabad needed to do more to rein in home-grown militants, sources said.

They also spoke about energy and closer economic, trade and defence ties. “President Obama views the US-India relationship to be of foremost importance,” Jones said in a statement.

“The visit provided an opportunity for both sides to review the current state and future growth of the India-US partnership,” said a release issued by Singh’s media adviser.