Modi for ambitious India-US strategic partnership: McCain

Security and defence cooperation high on agenda, says US

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to focus India-US partnership on an ambitious strategic agenda, a top US lawmaker has said.

 

"It was my clear impression from meeting with the prime minister that he wants to focus our partnership on an ambitious strategic agenda," said Senator John McCain, who recently met Modi.

 

"That was certainly the impression we had as well in our conversation," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said in response.

 

A few days after McCain's meeting, Biswal accompanied Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to meet Modi in New Delhi this month.

 

"We think that we have a very strong opportunity in terms of security cooperation and defence partnership. The PM in his conversation said defence manufacturing was a key area that India would like to pursue. We think that there is scope and particularly the Indian budget did increase the FDI cap to 49%," Biswal said.

The two countries will also look at increased cooperation in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure and the education sector, she said. 

 

Biswal said "we also are going to advance our ability to work together around strategic objectives in the region".

 

She said this was an important time to reexamine the US-India relationship.