The US has high level of expectations about a new momentum of India's economic growth under the new government, Senator John McCain told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, who expressed desire to take the relationship to a new level.
McCain, who met Modi here, conveyed the keen desire in the US to work with him to revitalise the India-US strategic partnership. Modi said he looked forward to his US visit in September to take the relationship to a new level.
“The prime minister conveyed his desire to further deepen and expand the strategic partnership, based on our shared values and interests, sensitivity to each other's concerns and tangible progress across the full spectrum of bilateral relations,” said a statement by the prime minister’s office. Modi and McCain also discussed the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The prime minister expressed concern over the increased threat of terrorism across the world, and reiterated that the fight against terror should be a global priority for humanitarian forces,” the statement added.
McCain also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday where they discussed ways to enhance Indo-US strategic partnership.Ahead of his visit, the Republican Senator from Arizona had said, “We seek to take our strategic partnership with India to the next level, it is important for US leaders to reach out personally to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially in light of recent history.”
Significantly, McCain is against US withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. He maintains that if Afghanistan goes Iraq's way in the absence of US forces, it would leave India with a clear and present danger on its periphery.
For this reason, he was deeply concerned about the consequences of President Barack Obama’s plan to pull troops out of the war-torn country by 2016.
McCain is among the high-profile visitors from the US this month, which will also see a visit by Secretary of State John Kerry for Indo-US Strategic Dialogue on July 31.