"More Than Partner...": US State Department Says Eager To Work With India

US state department officials said, "India is more than just a partner. We work more closely with India on daily basis than any country in the region."

Top US State Department officials on Thursday said that India is more than just a partner in the vision laid out by the Biden administration to restore American leadership in the Indo-Pacific region and the choices made now will decide the future for open, secure, and resilient region.

In a telephonic press conference, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu discussed the Biden-Harris Administration's recently-released Indo-Pacific Strategy, which sets forth Washington's vision for a region that is open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.

Lu said, "India is more than just a partner. We work more closely with India on daily basis than any country in the region."

Elaborating upon the strategic ties with India, Kritenbrink said, "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had "open and honest discussion" on Ukraine/Russia crisis and while it is "complex issue" but both sides "talk about every issue, including tough one" during the recently concluded Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Melbourne.