India has established early contact with Trump's transition team: Foreign Secy

Asserting that Indo-US relations will strengthen irrespective of the recent change of guard, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has established an early contact with President-elect Donald Trump's transition team.

Addressing the second day of the Raisina Dialogue here, Jaishankar said that a strong conversation has been held between India and the Trump cadre.

"We established an early contact with the Trump transition team and see a strong conversion of interests and concerns," he said.

Meanwhile, throwing light on the Indo-Russia relations, Jaishankar stated the bond between both sides have heavily strengthened in the view of blooming camaraderie between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Modi.

"With Russia, India's relationship has grown very strong in the last two years as with the bonding of the two leaders," he said.

Talking about New Delhi's ties with Japan, Jaishankar said, "With Japan, there is really a transformation underway in the relationship that would make it a key player in India's modernization."

The Foreign Secretary's assertion came a day after Prime Minister Modi stated that New Delhi has given a strong momentum to engagement with the United States, Russia, Japan and other major global powers over the past two and a half years.

"With them, we not only share a desire to cooperate. We also hold converging views on opportunities and challenges that face us. These partnerships are a good fit with India's economic priorities and defence and security. With the United States, our actions have brought speed, substance and strength to the entire spectrum of our engagement. In my conversation with President-elect Donald Trump, we agreed to keep building on these gains in our strategic partnership," Prime Minister Modi said in his inaugural address at the second Raisina Dialogue.

"Russia is an abiding friend. President Putin and I have held long conversations on the challenges that confront the world today. Our trusted and strategic partnership, especially in the field of defence has deepened," he added.