Share India’s concerns over Pak situation: US
The US ambassador said he was “thrilled” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the US for an official visit in June.
The US and India share the same concerns over the situation in Pakistan, US ambassador Eric Garcetti said on Wednesday against the backdrop of widespread political unrest in the neighbouring country.
During an interaction with the media in the country’s financial hub, Garcetti described India as a leading power in the world and said he was “thrilled” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the US for an official visit in June. He added that he was impressed with the progress India has made in the past three decades.
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In an apparent reference to protests in Pakistan in recent days following the arrest of former premier Imran Khan, Garcetti said: “I think the US, India and the world share the same concern. We want stability in Pakistan. We hope that there won’t be unrest in Pakistan.
“We stay engaged with Pakistan because of that. I think that serves India and the US and the world. We hope that the rule of law and peace will prevail over the border. But that is up to the Pakistani people to decide.”
“I first came to India as a teenager and I learned so much. I learned how deeply we are connected to people everywhere on this planet, no matter where we live, what language we speak, how much money we have or how we worship,” he said.
In the context of Modi’s upcoming state visit to the US, he said this year holds great promise for the two countries in terms of what they can do.
“As a teenager, I never could have imagined the growth and progress that India has achieved in the past three decades. India is emerging as a leading power in the world,” said Garcetti, who spent a long time in India during his days as a student.
In 1992, the year he graduated from college after studying Hindi and Indian culture and history, bilateral ties had languished, he said.
“Our annual trade stood at $2 billion, our development relationship was a one-way flow, our defence trade was zero, and our military interoperability was non-existent,” he said.
In contrast, the US is now India’s biggest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth $191 billion in 2022. India also sends the highest number of students to the US and military ties have expanded in a big way.
“We are protecting an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient. Our leading companies collaborate to solve global challenges in inclusive development and renewable energy,” Garcetti said.
“We are jointly addressing global health and development challenges, confronting climate change, and delivering next generation critical and emerging technologies. We are showing the world how the US and India are better together,” he added.
Garcetti said he is “thrilled that Prime Minister Modi will be visiting the US for a state visit” as this is only the third time in 75 years that an Indian premier has made such a visit.
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“We know this is the first trip in 14 years of any [Indian] prime minister to the White House at this level. We also know that this year holds great promise to be able to see what we can do. The sky is the limit in my mind for where we can take trade, to accelerate visas for students and to make sure that we can think not just about the next year or the next five years, but the next 20 and 50 years of a US-India relationship,” he said.
Garcetti also expressed his love for cricket and spoke about meeting Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.