New Delhi: India remains “confident” in its ties with the US, reiterating its belief that it is the “most consequential partnership of the 21st century,” despite the fact that US President Donald J. Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch at the White House last week.
“As far as India-US relationship is concerned, let me remind you that our partnership with the United States is wide ranging, grounded in shared democratic values and growing strategic convergence. A comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the United States continues to receive high level attention and is manifested in sustained dialogue and cooperation across sectors of trade to critical technology to energy, defense and several other fields,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday at a regular press briefing.
He added: “We remain confident in the trajectory in this most consequential partnership of the 21st century.”
The spokesperson had “no further comments to add” when quizzed for a reaction on the roughly two-hour meeting Trump held with Munir.
The conversation between the two reportedly included discussions over Iran, days before the US conducted military strikes at three critical Iranian nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Ties between India and the US have come under strain in light of Trump’s repeated claims that he used trade as leverage to bring about cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan last month. New Delhi has rejected the claims, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling Trump last week that there was no mention of trade during conversations between Indian and US officials as Operation Sindoor was ongoing.
However, Trump as recently as Wednesday took credit for the bilateral understanding reached between the militaries of India and Pakistan to halt firing on 10 May.
The US also updated its travel advisory to India last week, urging its citizens to not travel alone to certain parts of the country.
“Travel advisories are periodically issued by countries based on the assessment of various factors, we have noted that the United States has also updated the travel advisory for India… We have been informed by the US authorities that there has been no change in India’s advisory level, which remains at level two, the same as before,” said Jaiswal.
Another challenge in ties is the issuance of visas to Indian nationals by the US. On Thursday, the US embassy in New Delhi announced that social media accounts used in the last five years by Indian applicants must be shared during the application process.
Jaiswal said that the issuance of visas is a “sovereign function,” while adding that “it is our belief that all visa applications of Indian nationals should be treated on the basis of merit, and we remain engaged in the US side on all the mobility issues and consular issues to ensure that the legitimate interest of Indian nationals”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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