Want to have deeper ties with India: White House

The Trump administration wants to build a deeper relationship with India, the White House has said, expressing confidence that the two countries will continue to grow their ties.

"I think we are, as talked about during the campaign and the transition, establishing a deeper relationship with Prime Minister Modi and US-India businesses," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Thursday at his daily news conference.

"And I think as we move forward in terms of our foreign policy, we'll have further updates on that. Trump spoke very clearly and frequently about the relationship that we have and hope to continue to grow with India," Spicer said.

Spicer also condemned the killing of a 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and another injured in an alleged hate crime in Kansas.

"...Whether it's the event that happened in Kansas City, other events, the attacks on Jewish community centres that continue to plague us — I guess we saw another report this morning, some unfortunate activity.

"We have got to continue to call it out. We've got to continue to root it out. We've got to continue to engage law enforcement," he said.

Spicer urged Americans to stand up for the principles that unite them while asking all to be outraged and disgusted by such incidents.

"The president spoke so eloquently about during his joint address. He made it very clear that while certain policies may divide us as individuals, there are certain principles that can unite us," Spicer said.