Washington, Nov 18 (IANS) Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's state visit next week, the United States has said it expects a significant portion of their future ties built around economic cooperation.

Noting that India had weathered the economic crisis much better than others, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bills Burns Wednesday said the US looked forward to an expanded Indian role in world economic affairs.

Speaking at an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank, Burns said they were negotiating their own bilateral trade treaty.

The US-India CEO Forum would meet on the margins of the summit next week between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and they will also have a brief meeting with Obama and Manmohan Singh.

Another area of cooperation between the US and India would be in education and human development, Burns said and declared that 'this is going to be one of the most significant parts of what we are working on together in these next couple of years.'