New Delhi: After a farewell phone call to Manmohan Singh shortly after he demitted office, US President Barak Obama also wrote to the former Indian prime minister appreciating his role in strengthening the Indo-US strategic relationship.

On May 17, Obama made a farewell phone call to Singh barely hours after the latter demitted office and described him as one of the few public leaders whom he "admired" and that he would "miss" working with him on a "day-to-day basis".