Last Updated: May 30, 2023, 19:44 IST
US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti with President Joe Biden. (File pic: Reuters)
It’s not just about short-term transactions, but it’s about the long-term relationship, he added in the exclusive interview. On the matter of border tensions with China, he said India can count on the friendship and strategic relationship with the United States, and that borders must be respected
Ties between India and the United States are “historic” and “generational”, said US ambassador Eric Garcetti in an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18 on Tuesday.
“I think it’s historic right now and it’s generational in both senses of the word…something that’s going to last more than this moment,” he said. “It’s an investment in the generation together but it’s also generating good things for our countries and for the world…Whether it’s technology-making…Sure, technology can be a force for good and not of oppression…Whether a strategic partnership that says this is about maintaining and respecting borders and sovereignty, opens ways, or whether it’s people-to-people ties, which of course we have been building for a long time.”
His statement comes weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the United States in June. The White House recently said the visit will be an opportunity to reaffirm the deep, close partnership between the US and India.
“Every Indian knows somebody who has studied in the US, travelled to the US,” Garcetti told CNN-News18. “I think that this is a historic moment in our relationship…It’s natural, but this is also generational…This is something that is not just about short-term transactions, but it’s about the long-term relationship.”
The ambassador also spoke on India’s border tensions with China, adding that New Delhi can “count on the friendship and strategic relationship with the United States”.
“I think our actions and spirit speaks for itself. India has more military drills with the US than any other country. Whenever there have been incidents, India called on us and we have been there, and I think that continues to deepen, whether that is co-production of defence or it’s about integrating our forces. It’s about sharing moments of crisis information with each other and I think that is very important for not only India and the US but for many countries,” he said. “If we don’t respect those borders and if we don’t respect boundaries for one country that will not be respected for any country. India can count on our friendship and the strategic relationship that we have.”
