New Delhi: The United States will work closely and deepen cooperation with India on many fronts and the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between the two countries will continue in the four years of the Joe Biden administration.
The State Department made this clear when asked to articulate the administration’s policy towards India, as the previous Trump administration was perceived by many to be more in tune with the Narendra Modi government.
Responding to that, Spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday said to the US, India is one of the most important partners in the Indo-Pacific region and the Biden administration welcomed India’s emergence as a leading global power and its role as a net security provider in the region.
“We cooperate on a wide range of diplomatic and security issues, including defence, nonproliferation, regional cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, counterterrorism, peacekeeping, the environment, health, education, technology, agriculture, space, and oceans.
“And of course, that list is not exhaustive. We also work closely'” Price said.
He said both work closely in international organizations, and welcomed India joining the Security Council last month for a two-year term.
“We also remain India’s largest and most important trading partner, with total bilateral trade increasing to $146 billion in 2019.
US companies, of course, are a large source of India’s foreign direct investment.”
And then he highlighted the people-to-people ties, the broad and important people-to-people ties.
Nearly 4 million Indian Americans call the United States home, proudly serving their country in uniform.
Asked about the US position on China intruding and encroaching upon Indian territories, Price said, Washington is “concerned by Beijing’s pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours” and is “closely monitoring” the situation.
“As always, we’ll stand with friends, we’ll stand with partners, we’ll stand with allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in, in this case, the Indo-Pacific.”