Indian govt is going to be America’s ‘great ally’: Paul Ryan

The Indian government is going to be America’s “great ally” and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has called India a “great ally”, one with which America should build an alliance and build upon it.

Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. applaud Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during address ti a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday. (AP)

“The new Indian government is going to be a great ally for ours, and we have better security cooperation with them,” Ryan said at a leading think tank on Thursday, the day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of US congress.

Read: When it comes to Modi, there’s a new symphony at play in US Congress

He added: “That’s one thing that we need to nurture and grow. And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he’s a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He’s bringing needed reform to the country. That’s the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon.”

Modi, who became only the fifth Indian prime minister to speak to a joint meeting of congress, was Ryan’s first joint-address speaker since he took office in October 2015.

Read: Modi’s US policy: Can India shape an Asian Century without China?

The speaker went on to cite India, and bilateral relations, as a contrast to rest of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy which, he said, “neglected our allies, and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries”.