PM Modi understands potential of India-U.S. relationship: Ambassador Sandhu

The Indian Ambassador told the audience that India under PM Modi has been showing the world the way forward

Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the potential of the India-U.S. relationship and has played a key role in building trust between the two countries, India's envoy to Washington, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has said as he hailed the record $160 billion bilateral trade last year despite the pandemic.

“As the head of 1.4 billion citizens, our Prime Minister has encouraged each of us to dream big. In a real sense, he has gone on and has shown us that these dreams can be achieved if pursued with determination and persistence as seen in India’s rise on the global map,” Mr. Sandhu said at an event in Chicago on Sunday.

“Let us all continue to dream big and work passionately towards achieving those dreams,” Mr. Sandhu told the gathering at the “Vishwa Sadbhavana’” event organised by the NID Foundation in Chicago.

Prime Minister Modi, he said, understands the potential of the India-U.S. relationship and has played an important role in building trust between the two countries.

"In the U.S., the Prime Minister saw a very close friend and a strong partner, critical to transforming the dreams and the development aspirations of nearly 1.4 billion Indians into reality," he added.

“Mr. Modi has shaped this relationship with his firm vision and showed that tangible outcomes are possible with focussed and regular actions. The United States has designated India as a Major Defence Partner, which is the basis for our strong collaboration in the defence sector. India and the U.S.A. do more bilateral military exercises with each other, today than with any other country,” Mr. Sandhu said.

India’s defence trade with the U.S. which was almost zero in the late 1990s is now more than $20 billion in 2022. Similarly, the energy trade, which five years ago was almost zero, stands at $20 billion now.