US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said the US would strengthen its relations with India in several key areas, including economic and security cooperation.
Press Trust of India Washington
A senior official said the US is deepening its ties with India in several key areas, including economic and security cooperation, and stressed that Washington will continue to nurture this relationship.
US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel made the remarks at his daily press briefing on Monday in response to a question on US-India relations and the recent conversation between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.
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“India is a country with which we are deepening our relations in a number of key areas, particularly in deepening our economic relations and our security cooperation,” Patel told reporters.
President Biden “had the opportunity to meet briefly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few weeks ago on the sidelines of the G7 summit,” he added.
“This is an area where we will continue to develop the relationship,” he said.
He pointed out that the US had invited Prime Minister Modi on a state visit last year and said: “I can imagine that there will be a number of other areas in which we will further deepen our cooperation.”
Prime Minister Modi visited the United States in June last year at the invitation of President Biden, after which the two countries signed a number of important cooperation agreements in the areas of defense, trade and space.
Patel also mentioned National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's visit to India a few weeks ago.
Sullivan visited India from June 17 to 18 and held extensive discussions with his counterpart Ajit Doval, focusing on the implementation of the ambitious India-US Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) initiative.
Responding to a question on Pakistan and India-Pakistan relations, Patel said the United States hopes that every country in the world will condemn terrorism everywhere.
“But ultimately this is a matter between India and Pakistan. In general, of course, we welcome any country that builds more positive relations with its neighbours. But on this point in particular, I simply have nothing to offer,” he said.
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