New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Sunday that India and the United States, as the two largest democracies, lay the foundation for “incredible cooperation”, while emphasising that his visit is not focused on “restoring” ties, but rather on enhancing what he described as a “very solid and strong strategic partnership.”
He called the US’ partnership with India “one of the most important in the world”.
Rubio made these statements in his opening remarks during his meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar at New Delhi’s Hyderabad House.
“It has already been a fantastic first day. We’re looking forward to our visits and our talks today and learning more about the country,” Rubio said in his remarks.
Reiterating EAM Jaishankar’s remarks that the United States and India are “strategic allies of critical importance”, the US State Secretary said, “We obviously work with countries all over the world and all over the region on a variety of issues as they emerge, but our strategic partnership is what sets this relationship apart, because it’s not simply limited to a region. It extends to opportunities to cooperate globally in different regions of the world, and that includes potentially in the Western Hemisphere and places like that.”
Rubio said that India and the US share many common interests and will continue to build upon the “solid and strong” ties.
“We are the two largest democracies in the world, and that alone is the baseline for incredible cooperation. But we have so many common interests that it makes all the sense in the world for us to continue to build upon,” he said.
“This is not about restoring or reinvigorating. I’ve seen people use that terminology. This is about continuing to build on what is already a very solid and strong strategic partnership — one of the most important ones that we have, and one of the most important ones in the world,” he added.
EAM Jaishankar, in his opening remarks during the meeting, said that he is looking forward and is confident of holding “open and productive discussions”.
“We have a comprehensive global strategic partnership, which I think in plain language means that we have a very deep, very broad-based cooperation. And a relationship that impacts and influences other regions and the world,” the EAM said.
“And that is because we have converging interests on many issues and in many parts of the world. So I look forward to our conversation today. These are complicated times, but as strong partners, I’m very confident we’ll have very open and productive discussions. Once again, a very warm welcome,” he added.
Both leaders then held a delegation-level meeting at the Hyderabad House, with discussions focusing on strengthening cooperation in trade, energy, technology, etc.
–IANS
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