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U.S.-India Relations Thriving
President Joe Biden has called the United States’ relationship with India the “defining relationship” of the 21st century.
“The road that we’ve traveled over the last 25 years has been quite extraordinary,” declared Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the U.S.-India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit.
“Simply put, we see this defining relationship as a unique connection between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, with a special obligation now to demonstrate that our governments can deliver for and empower all of our citizens,” he said.
“We see the importance of the partnership in a shared commitment to address regional and global challenges,” said Secretary Blinken. But at the “heart of the strategic relationship between our countries are economic ties.”
“Last year, as you know, trade between our nations reached a record $191 billion, making the United States the largest trading partner for India. American companies have now invested at least $54 billion in India, from manufacturing to telecommunications. In the United States, Indian companies have invested over $40 billion in IT, in pharmaceuticals, and more, supporting 425,000 jobs from California to Georgia.”
India has also joined three pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – committing to build more resilient supply chains, to seize clean energy opportunities, and to combat corruption.
The U.S. and India are elevating and expanding their strategic technology partnership on all levels because both nations believe technology use should be informed by democratic values and respect for human rights.
Central to all of this cooperation is diversifying and deepening supply chains with trusted countries, while also reducing strategic dependencies.
Finally, the U.S. and India are investing in their people, said Secretary Blinken:
“The U.S. and India’s education systems have produced the leaders of some of our most iconic companies . . . Indian Americans have created a third – a third – of all immigrant-founded startups in the United States . . . And maybe most significant for the future – for the future of ties between our countries – we have more than 200,000 Indians studying in American universities, making India the second-largest source of international students in the United States.”
The United States and India will continue to work together to advance transparency, promote market access, and strengthen their democracies, in order to unleash the full potential of their people.