Washington (PTI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoped that the Indo-US nuclear deal would be approved in a manner "satisfactory" from the point of view of both the countries as he met President George W Bush here but could not ink the agreement in the absence of a Congressional nod.

Bush, on his part, assured Singh that his Administration is "working hard" to get the deal approved "as quickly as possible" after the House of Representatives postponed till today the debate and vote on a bill on the landmark pact.

It is understood that the House, which was considering a bill introduced by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, has put off the voting due to pre-occupation with the financial bailout package and some other issues.

"We want the (123) Agreement to satisfy you and get it out of our Congress. And so we're working hard to get it passed as quickly as possible," Bush told reporters at the Oval office in the White House after a 40-minute meeting with Singh.

"I sincerely hope that the settlement which is now before the US Congress will be approved in a manner which will be satisfactory from the point of view of both our countries," the Prime Minister said.

"And when the history is written, I think it will be recorded that President George W Bush played a historic role in bringing the two democracies closer to each other," Singh, who acknowledged Bush's efforts in bringing the "massive transformation" of the India-US relations, said.

Bush said the deal, signed by the two leaders in July, 2005, has taken "a lot of work on both our parts, a lot of courage on your part".

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