Washington: Describing America`s relations with India as one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, the US on Monday said that it "fervently" supports India`s rise.
"The President considers US relations with India, the world`s largest democracy, to be `one of the defining partnerships of the twenty-first century," National Security Adviser to the US President Tom Donilon said in his address to the Asia Society in New York.
"From Prime Minister Singh`s visit in 2009 to the President`s trip to India in 2010, the US has made clear at every turn that we don`t just accept India`s rise, we fervently support it," Donilon said.
"US and Indian interests powerfully converge in the Asia-Pacific, where India has much to give and much to gain. Southeast Asia begins in Northeast India, and we welcome India`s efforts to `look East`, from supporting reforms in Burma to trilateral cooperation with Japan to promoting maritime security," he said.
"In the past year, for example, India-ASEAN trade increased by 37 per cent to USD 80 billion," Donilon pointed out in his major foreign policy speech on Asia.
He spoke on efforts of the White House on building new relationship in the region.
Donilon said the overarching objective of the US in the region is to sustain a stable security environment and a regional order rooted in economic openness, peaceful resolution of disputes, and respect for universal rights and freedoms.
"To pursue this vision, the US is implementing a comprehensive, multidimensional strategy: strengthening alliances; deepening partnerships with emerging powers; building a stable, productive, and constructive relationship with China; empowering regional institutions; and helping to build a regional economic architecture that can sustain shared prosperity," he said.
PTI
