PM Modi's rare honor, addressing congress twice, joined by global peers as only Indian leader
Describing the India-US ties as a "partnership like no other", the Indian envoy here has said the US has the necessary capital and the technology know-how while India offers both the scale and the talent which make this relationship a stock which anyone can bet on.
The remarks by India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu came during his address to the annual India Ideas Summit of the US India Business Council.
“The tagline for the India-US relationship, which I like the most, is “a partnership like no other!”, And you may think, that this is what, good diplomats say, about every relationship. Believe me: this is unique!” Sandhu said in his address to the Indian and American corporate leaders.
“United States has the necessary capital and the technology know-how while we offer, both the scale and the talent. This is a stock, which anyone would, bet on!” Sandhu said.
Over the last six months, there has been a flurry of activities in the bilateral ties.
“You take any day, there is a delegation from India in the US or an American visitor in India. Even as I speak, NSA Jake Sullivan is in New Delhi," he said.
There is an "unmistakable energy", a drive and a desire to get things done across sectors, he said.
“It was just in the end of January this year, in this very building, the two NSAs (Sullivan and Ajit Doval) along with the Commerce Secretary (Gina) Raimondo, spoke about the complementarities, in our vision, at the iCET (Initiative of Critical and Emerging Technology) Roundtable where we discussed, the need for our strategic, commercial and scientific worlds, to converge. India-US Initiative, on Critical and Emerging Technologies, has been a game changer, in our partnership,” Sandhu said.
“Needless to say, all of this leads up to the historic visit of the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) to Washington DC. In about a week from now, PM Modi will be received, by President (Joe) Biden at the White House, for a State Visit. This will be, only, the third time, in our independent history, that India’s leader is accorded, this honour by a US President,” said the Indian Ambassador.
It will also be a rare occasion, where the Prime Minister will address, a joint session of the Congress, for the second time, joining a select group of world leaders, and the only Indian leader, to do so, twice, he told the audience. there will also be other important engagements, he added.
“Last time when my Prime Minister addressed the US Congress, in 2016, he spoke about overcoming, the hesitations of history. It is a measure, of how far we have come, in these last seven years, we have fixed our gaze, firmly on the future, building our cooperation, from the seas to the stars,” he said.
Without mentioning any country in his speech, Sandhu urged American companies to reduce their dependence on China.
“Geopolitics has taught us, the follies of over-dependence, on single geographies. We ended up here, because we played short balls; took decisions, which were easy,” he said.
“We need to diversify; build resilient, reliable, and sustainable, supply chains. We have already seen many US companies take advantage of the opportunity, of PLI (Production Linked Incentive) Schemes in India, including most recently Apple, and its supplier Foxconn. It is estimated that by 2025, one out of every 4 iPhones in the world will be manufactured in India. We need more such stories,” Sandhu said.
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