Describing India and the US as "natural allies", the country's envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that India’s partnership with America was critical in translating its "bold vision" for development into reality.
Speaking during a livesteam session titled 'Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu on the US-India Partnership' organised by American think-tank the Hudson Institute, the Ambassador said India and the US were bound by “shared values – democracy, liberty and equality of opportunity, all under the rule of law”.
“As the world’s largest and oldest democracies, we are natural allies,” he said.
“Our partnership with the US is critical in translating India’s bold vision for development into a reality. There is much that the India-US partnership has achieved, and there is much more that remains to be done in the days ahead,” Sandhu said.
The Ambassador also added that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the bilateral partnership.
"Not only are Indian-American and Indian-origin doctors and healthcare professionals at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic but there are three ongoing partnerships in COVID-19 vaccine development between companies and institutions of the two countries," he said.
The discussion was hosted by Hudson Institute's director of India Initiative, Aparna Pande.
She asked a series of questions on “the three pegs” that comprise the partnership: economic, strategic and people to people. Citing the bilateral trade figure of USD 150 billion, the Indian Ambassador spoke about how all major US Fortune 500 companies are among the 2,000 American companies that have invested in India.
"At the same time, Indian companies, numbering over 200, have invested more than USD 22 billion in the US economy. The Indian companies have created more than 125,000 jobs in America," he noted.
