India-US relationship flourished under PM Modi, says Trump administration official
What's the story
The relationship between India and the US flourished under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official in US President Donald Trump administration has said, adding it expects the ties to improve after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The senior official also said that the first ever India-US two-plus-two dialogue, held in New Delhi last year, took the relationship forward.
Read the details here.
Comment
'Highlight was PM Modi's visit to White House in June'17'
Responding to a question on five years of the Modi government and the recent visit of India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to the US, the official said, "US-India relationship has really flourished...since Modi took power."
"The highlight was Prime Minister Modi's visit to the White House in the June of 2017 where a lot of progress was made on the relationship," he said.
Opinion
There's 'a lot more strategic logic' to India-US relationship: Official
"I would just say that the visit by Foreign Secretary Gokhale was just the latest illustration of the positive trajectory that the relationship is on," the official said requesting anonymity.
"We look forward to working with whoever is elected in this (general) election," the senior official further said, adding there is "a lot of strategic logic" to the India-US relationship.
Expectations
US expects the ties to continue to improve, said official
The official said US expects the ties to continue to improve and the country is looking for ways of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, in particular to Washington's converging strategic interest in that part of the world.
Describing Gokhale's recent visit to the US a milestone, the official said the visit of the diplomat began with a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Gokhale's meeting
Gokhale discussed bilateral, global issues during his three-day US visit
The official said the visit of the top Indian diplomat began with a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and concluded with National Security Advisor John Bolton.
During his three-day to the US visit last week, Gokhale had important foreign office consultation and strategic security dialogue at the state department.
A wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues were discussed.
Information
They discussed Indo-Pak situation as well as Afghanistan, said official
Speaking on Gokhale's meeting with Pompeo and Bolton, the senior official said, "They were able to talk about our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific, ways to strengthen our defense and security cooperation. Of course, they discussed Indian Pakistan situation as well as Afghanistan."