US has said India needs to be central to what the Trump administration does in South and Central Asia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the members of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington that the United States ought to do everything it can to make sure that India becomes one of America’s closest partners. Pompeo was responding to questions from lawmakers about how to further strengthen the US-India relationship.
He said sustaining a strategic dialogue with India is something that would enjoy strong support in the US. Pompeo said he and Defense Secretary James Mattis will jointly meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shortly for the inaugural dialogue.
The decision about the meeting was taken at the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the White House on June 26 last year.
The US-India relationship enjoys bipartisan support in the US Congress.
Early this week, a top US State Department official said the Trump administration supports India’s emergence as a leading global power and as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert had said that the US-India partnership is rooted in shared democratic values and a commitment to a rules-based order.
Source: AIR