India-US relationship flourished under PM Modi, says official in Trump administration
Washington, Mar 22:The relationship between India and the US flourished under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official in the Donald Trump administration has said, adding it expects the ties to improve after the Lok Sabha elections.
The senior official also said the first ever India-US two-plus-two dialogue, held in New Delhi last year, took the relationship forward.
Responding to a question on five years of the Modi government and the recent visit of India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to the US, the official said, "US-India relationship has really flourished... since Modi took power."
"The highlight, I would say, was Prime Minister Modi's visit to the White House in the June of 2017 where a lot of progress was made on the relationship. I would just say that the visit by Foreign Secretary Gokhale was just the latest illustration of the positive trajectory that the relationship is on," the official said requesting anonymity.
"We look forward to working with whoever is elected in this (general) election," the senior official said, adding there is "a lot of strategic logic" to the India-US relationship.
The official said the US expects the ties to continue to improve and the country is looking for ways of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in particular on Washington's converging strategic interest in that part of the world.
Describing the recent visit of Gokhale to the US a milestone, the official said the visit of the top Indian diplomat began with a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and concluded with National Security Advisor John Bolton.
During his three-day to the US visit last week, Gokhale had important foreign office consultation and strategic security dialogue at the state department. A wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues were discussed.
"They were able to talk about our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific, ways to strengthen our defense and security cooperation. Of course, they discussed Indian Pakistan situation as well as Afghanistan," the senior official said.
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Hemant Soren to take oath as 14th CM of Jharkhand on Thursday
Ranchi (PTI): Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister.
Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.
Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.
Schools in Ranchi city are shut on Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.
Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.
Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.
CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
"It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion," said Soren, who along with senior officials paid a visit to the Morabadi ground on Wednesday evening to take stock of the arrangements.
