WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the trajectory of the Indo-US partnership is “unmistakable and filled with promise”, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic state visit to the US will further solidify the defining relationship of the 21st century.
Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official state visit, which will include a State Dinner on June 22.
Addressing the annual India Ideas Summit of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) here on Monday, Blinken said: “We know that India and the United States are big, complicated countries. We certainly have work to do to advance transparency, to promote market access, to strengthen our democracies, to unleash the full potential of our people.”
“But the trajectory of this partnership is unmistakable, and it is filled with promise. It is being written in places like North Carolina, where our growing engagement is benefiting both our countries,” he said, as he highlighted several projects in the state benefiting both nations.
According to the top US diplomat, one North Carolina entrepreneur from Gujarat commenting on this explosion of US-India commercial activity observed, “‘This couldn’t have happened 15 years ago’.”
Blinken has said economic ties are at the heart of the Indo-US strategic partnership, and under the leadership of President Biden and Prime Minister Modi “and private sector leaders like you — it is growing stronger by the day”.
Blinken added that last year, trade between the two countries reached a record USD 191 billion, making the US the largest trading partner for India. American companies have invested at least USD 54 billion in India from manufacturing to telecommunications.