India is a “great ally” of America and the US willcontinue to work closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Trumpadministration has said, asserting that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waslooking forward to have a “robust discussion” with his Indiancounterpart on a wide range of issues.
State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reportersduring an off-camera news conference here on Tuesday that the US was confidentin the fairness and integrity of the just-concluded general elections in India.
The Trump administration, including President Donald Trump,Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo, congratulated Modi and his BharatiyaJanata Party on the spectacular electoral victory in the Lok Sabha electionswhose results were declared on May 23.
“We, of course, will work closely with Modi, as we havemany times,” Ortagus told reporters in response to a question.
“We’re confident in the fairness and integrity of theelections, and I think that Secretary Pompeo will have a very robust discussionon a range of issues. India is a great ally and partner of the UnitedStates,” Ortagus said.
The US Lawmakers and senior government officials continue tocongratulate Modi on his grand electoral victory.
Indian-Americans organised victory celebrations in variousparts of the US. Several more are in the pipeline on a large scale in thecoming weeks.
According to a compilation made by the Indian Embassy here,more than 50 Congressmen, Senators and the senior government officials havesent congratulatory messages to Modi.
“India continues to have amazing potential and is astrong US partner. Congratulations to Narendra Modi on your success with theelections and the direction you are taking India. We look forward to seeing ourpartnership continue to strengthen,” tweeted Indian-American politicianNikki Haley.
“I wish peace and prosperity for India and itsneighbours and look forward to seeing you at India House in my congressionaldistrict in Houston, Texas, USA,” he said.
In the first back-to-back majority for a single party inover three decades, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 out of thetotal 542 Lok Sabha seats, handing out a crushing defeat to the Congress Partyand many other political opponents.
“Prime Minister Modi has led India and has brought lotof credibility in foreign affairs and made India a power to reckon with. He hastravelled all the continents and made friends and has a given the prestige toIndia that was long overdue,” said Sampat Shivangi, president of IndianAmerican Forum.
“India is a no more a third world country and has stoodthe test of time and has been recognised as one of the top six economies in theworld,” Shivangi said.
The Indian-Americans will put pressure and use the politicalclout to impress upon the US the importance of a balanced and fair tradeagreement with India.
“We do not want another impasse as we see with US-Chinatrade and we do not want India to be another China,” he said.