US President Barack Obama spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the phone, discussing regional and international issues of mutual interest and agreeing to work together to strengthen the resilience of the global economy to cope with shocks from the Eurozone.

“The leaders agreed on the importance of steps to strengthen the resilience of the global economy in response to persistent risks in the Eurozone and elsewhere and on focusing on measures to boost global growth,” the White House said in a statement.

The President and the Prime Minster also agreed to work closely together towards a successful two-day G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, from June 18.

The summit is likely to be dominated by the crisis in Europe, which — combined with slowing growth in China and India — poses a threat to the world economy.

The ongoing European sovereign debt crisis has made it difficult or impossible for some countries like Greece and Spain in the euro area to re-finance their government debt without the assistance of third parties.

The call between the two leaders came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held the third US-India Strategic Dialogue with visiting External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.

On Monday, the US exempted Indian and six other countries from tough new sanctions after they cut back on oil imports from Iran.

Exemption from Iran oil sanctions only for 180 days: US

Washington: Making it clear that the exemption given to seven countries from the US sanctions on Iran is valid for only six months, a senior Obama Administration official has hoped that these nations, including India would continue to reduce their dependence on oil from Tehran.

The clarification came days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton determined that seven countries, including India, would be exempted from the Iranian sanctions Act, noting that these countries have “significantly” reduced their dependence on Iranian oil.

“This is something that we are asking of all of our partners around the world. This is not something that’s focused on India. But the current exceptions that have been granted apply for a period of 180 days — so for a period of six months,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told reporters at a news conference here. PTI