India plays a critical role in Afghanistan: Cornyn

"As it stands, India plays an active and critical role in supporting the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, having committed more than USD 1.2 billion to this cause," top Republican Senator John Cornyn said in a statement.

The statement follows a meeting between Senator Cornyn and Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar held at the Capitol Hill on April 19. Cornyn is also the founder and co-chairman of the Senate India Caucus.

They discussed the current state of US-India bilateral relations and the importance of the two nations' shared efforts regarding Afghanistan, the statement said. Cornyn and Shankar also discussed trade policy and the US export control reform initiative, it added.