TIL Desk/World/Washington/ The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump in June laid a strong foundation for moving India-US relationship forward, a senior US official has said, indicating that the defence and counter-terrorism are likely to be key areas of co-operation. Modi’s visit to the White House “dispelled doubts” about moving the relationship forward among Indian officials, the Trump administration official told.
“I think the main issues that were discussed and will be followed up include security in the Indo-Pacific region and working closely with India to maintain free and open seaways, freedom of commerce, adherence to international law and sovereignty issues,” the official said on condition of anonymity, giving a brief review of the India-US relationship in the first eight months of the Trump administration.
This very much came across in the joint statement with the references to the common principles for the Indian Ocean region, the official said, adding that the two countries will be working to follow up those commitments. Defense cooperation was a big part of the visit, said the official, mentioning the estimated USD 2 billion deal for sale of guardian drones to India by the US. This is “the first time” that the US has decided to provide such technology to a non-NATO ally.
