The current India-US partnership is going to reach another level under the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar said, and added that like Chandrayaan, the bilateral ties would “reach Moon and beyond”.
Jaishankar made these remarks at the ‘Celebrating Colours of Friendship’ event organised by the Embassy of India in Washington on Saturday, which was attended by several hundred Indian-Americans.
“There is one clear message today that our relationship is at an all-time high. But as they say in America, you ain’t seen anything yet. So, we are going to take this relationship to a different level, to a different place,” he said at the India House.
US played key role in success of G20′
Jaishankar also credited the success of the G20 Summit in New Delhi to the US.
“As the host, when things go well, the host always gets the credit. It’s reasonable. But, the G20 could not have come together if all the members of the G20 did not work for its success,” he said
“I think particularly, I must say, because I’m in this country today, the contribution, the support and the understanding that we got from the United States to make a successful G20, I think that is something I would certainly like to recognise in public in Washington DC,” Jaishankar added.
So, it may have been our success in a literal way, but I think it was the G20 [nations] success. To me, it was also a success of the India-US partnership.… Please keep giving this partnership the support it needs, the support it deserves and the support it expects. And I can promise you that this relationship, like the Chandrayaan, will go to the Moon, maybe even beyond,” he said.
‘India-US bond unique’
Jaishankar said that what makes the US and India ties unique is the human bond between the two countries.
Countries do business with each other. Countries do politics with each other. They have military ties, they do exercises, and they have cultural exchanges. But when two countries have that deep human bonding, that’s a completely different ballgame. That is today the defining characteristic of our relationship,” he said.
The foreign minister lauded the contribution of the Indian diaspora in strengthening the relations between Washington and New Delhi.
“There are no words that can capture it. It is on that foundation that today we are looking ahead for…a new hope on the horizon…So, I think when we look at the horizon, we really see fantastic possibilities out there, and it’s the community which is going to deliver on that,” Jaishankar said.