New York: As the United States gears up for the November Presidential elections with all eyes on Indian-origin VP Kamala Harris, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell declared this week that New Delhi and Washington can have “strongest” ties as allies on the world stage. In the same vein, Campbell said India "will never be a formal ally or partner of the United States" as the country is "also a great power" with "its own beliefs and its own interests”.
Not being a formal ally "doesn't mean that we cannot have the strongest possible relationships as allied nations on the global stage," he said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, DC. "I do believe that we bent India's trajectory in ways that are consequential and very much in our interests," he added.
Mentioning India's strategic importance to the US in the context of China's international diplomacy, he further said that there are very few other countries in the world that have such an appeal to the Global South, and their ability to engage there is unmatched and we are seeking to work with them.
The relationship with India is "probably the most important relationship for the United States to get right”, he said. On Washington’s cooperation with New Delhi, Campbell said, "We've supported them in intelligence and military along the Line of Actual Control (on the border with China and) in the Indian Ocean".
Campbell also lauded the Indian diaspora, saying there is a "wonderful diaspora in the United States that connects our two great countries". "I believe that the vast majority of people in India want a better relationship with the United States. They’re grateful for our bipartisan attention. They liked the work that we've done together in education and technology".
Meanwhile, a bipartisan resolution was introduced in the US House of Representatives to celebrate the principles of democracy, religious pluralism, human rights, and the rule of law shared by both the United States and India. Introduced by Congressman Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, the resolution is co-sponsored by 36 other lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
The resolution applauded BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) for its role in the US. Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921-2016), established the first BAPS Hindu mandir in the US on August 4, 1974, in New York City. The resolution recognizes and celebrates the countless contributions of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and its volunteers over the last 50 years in the United States.
In a further fillip to the India-US ties, Washington is proposing to provide consultancy to Indian entities for developing an indigenous advanced unmanned aerial vehicle. India and the US have been holding discussions for the drone deal for the last few years, under which the three services will get 31 drones, with the Navy getting 15 birds and the Air Force and Army and Air Force getting two each.
