India remains key partner for us in Indo-Pacific region: US State Dept

India continues to be a vital partner for the United States, when it comes to Indo-Pacific and global regional stability and the US administration under outgoing President Joe Biden was thankful to have been able to deepen that cooperation over the last four years in office, the State Department said on Thursday.

During a press briefing on Thursday (local time), US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel highlighted the ongoing cooperation between the US and India across various sectors, including trade and security.

Patel noted that the Biden administration had worked to deepen this partnership over the past four years and that Biden and outgoing US Secretary of State Blinken continue to view India as a vital partner.

"President Biden and Secretary Blinken continue to view India as a vital partner. There are a number of areas in which, over the course of the past four years, you have seen tangible ways in which we have deepened that cooperation, whether it be trade issues or security cooperations," Patel said.

He added, "India continues to be a vital partner when it comes to Indo-Pacific and global regional stability and we are very thankful to have been able to deepen that cooperation over President Biden's four years in office."

When asked about the incoming administration's approach to US-India relations, Patel declined to speculate, emphasising that he was not a spokesperson for the incoming administration.

"What the incoming administration may or may not pursue as it relates to their relationship with India, I cannot speak to that. I am not a spokesperson for the incoming administration," Patel stated.

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reaffirmed the importance of India's relationship with the United States, describing the partnership as "very special" and "multifaceted."

"As a fellow democracy, India celebrates this expression of people's mandate in the United States. Prime Minister Modi conveyed to the President-elect that we look forward to working very closely, as he had done with him earlier as well to further strengthen the India-U.S. comprehensive global and strategic partnership. Both India and the United States will work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace and stability and prosperity. So we want to further strengthen our partnership and we look forward to it," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said following the recent US presidential election.