As President Barack Obama prepares for his India trip, a pro-Republican party think tank has asked him to affirm New Delhi's global role. It also asked him to emphasise the significance of the US-India strategic partnership in balancing China's rise in East Asia. Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation said in Washington that in view of his electoral setbacks, Obama may be tempted to limit his message to one that focuses on India as a destination for US exports and highlights US-India business collaboration. She said, while these are indeed important issues, President must also emphasize the broader significance of the US-India strategic partnership in strengthening democratic forces and balancing China's rise in East Asia. Curtis said Obama has often adopted an overly simplistic approach toward US-India trade and economic ties, focusing on India as an economic competitor to the US. Refereeing to the investments being done by Indian companies in the US, she said, while clamping down on outsourcing, Obama has missed the larger story on the benefits to the US economy from increased investment and trade ties between the two countries. Once in India, Curtis said, Obama will face tough questions on counter-terrorism front, especially on American handling of the Mumbai terror suspect David Headley case. The US has committed to reviewing its intelligence files on Headley and to debriefing India with full details on the review to reduce tensions over the case. She said, US policymakers have mistakenly tended to view India-focused terrorist groups like LeT through a different lens than al-Qaeda, despite a plethora of information showing the groups are interlinked and often cooperate on terrorist plots. Curtis said, as part of the growing security relationship, the Obama Administration is likely to unveil new measures to relax export controls on India, a gesture that would demonstrate the US sees India as a partner, not a target, in countering global proliferation. She said, another initiative President Obama should consider is incorporating India into the major nonproliferation groupings such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group, and Wassenar. She said, India's signing of the international Convention on Supplemental Compensation last week was a positive step in beginning to close the gap between Washington and New Delhi on the nuclear liability issue that has cast a pall over the civil nuclear deal.