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United States Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma said on Tuesday there is a transformational period in US-India ties, and the two countries are more "closely aligned than ever before."
"We are in a transformational period in US-India ties. I have been privileged and honoured to be working on this relationship for quite a while. And when I think about what we're doing today, the progress that we're making in all areas. When I look at the joint statement that was signed between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden for the state visit last summer, I have never seen a more detailed and consequential pathway for our two countries," United States Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R Verma said while giving his special keynote address at the two-day INDUS-X 2024 Summit. The two-day INDUS-X 2024 Summit: Innovation in US-India Defense will conclude on Wednesday. Speaking in the Summit, Verma, who was previously the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs where he led the State Department's efforts on Capitol Hill, said: "If you think back to our history about whether this kind of day was possible. You would probably be sceptical that we could ever get here or be very surprised that we can ever get here." Verma recalled the last 24 years, including the start of US President Bill Clinton's visit to India in 2000, saying, "If I measure our progress from the year 2000, we have excelled in every single body...We are more closely aligned than we have never been before." "Through all of our people-to-people contacts, the US Embassy is issuing more visas...We now have more Indian students in the United States, and nearly 250,000 or more students than we have ever had before. So when you actually measure what we are doing and in sheer numbers, we are more closely aligned than we have ever been before. "And again on defence we have taken unprecedented steps to increase cooperation to bring our defence establishments closer together, and both sides have taken steps to get up here," Verma continued. He further suggested securing the supply chain and protecting innovation and technology, pointing out that INDUS-X has been a critical part of this momentum. Informing the broader strategic context of what India and the US are doing together to strengthen the defence and technology relationship, Verma said one year ago when our national security advisors held the inaugural meeting of the US India initiative in emerging technologies, it was focussed on our countries to accelerate strategic technology and defence industrial cooperation. He further said that the United States had attempted many times before the Industrial partnership. "So many of these efforts are successful, but many also stalled...Our leaders chose to redouble their commitment to this partnership collaboration." "For how we meet the ambitious goals that President Biden and Prime Minister Modi have set us in partnership within a changing landscape in the country together and our leaders determined, it was important for us to build an ecosystem that supports innovation, access to technology, and introducing governance in ways that reflect our free and open common aspirations. I had our vision technological operations must stretch across our bureaucracies, encompassing everything, quantum computing, and much more," added Verma. Notably, Richard Verma is on a three-nation visit to India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka from February 18-23. (ANI)
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