“Our heads are aligned as we look at world”: Envoy Garcetti on India-US relations

New Delhi [India], August 28 (ANI): Lauding the bilateral relationship between the two nations, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Wednesday said that Americans and Indians feel similarly as people of both countries are aligned as they look at the world.

Speaking at the Annual IC3 Conference and Expo 2024 in Delhi, Garcetti said, “What are the things we are trying to accomplish in the US-India relationship. We know that Americans and Indians feel similarly, I think our hearts are very aligned…Our heads are aligned as we look at the world, understanding that an open and free Indo-Pacific is better than something that doesn’t have freedom, doesn’t have democracy, doesn’t celebrate people’s rights…”

Garcetti said that the power of US-India collaboration is unprecedented.

“I recently visited a company here in India that took a breakthrough of American scientists in dengue fever to have a vaccine that was effective in all 4 strains, never yet invented in human history, and gave that breakthrough to a number of Indian companies,” the US Ambassador said.

“One of whom is now in the third round of clinical trials so maybe in a year or two, India and the world for the first time because of the US and India working together, to have a dengue fever vaccine that will save countless lives…So, the power of this collaboration that we have together, I think, is unprecedented,” he added.

US and India share warm and friendly ties with each other, and are partners across various platforms, including defence, space, and much more.

US Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for Space Policy Vipin Narang and India’s Joint Secretary for International Cooperation, Vishwesh Negi, met for the second annual US-India Advanced Domains Defense Dialogue (AD3) at Pentagon in Washington, DC in May this year.

During the dialogue, Narang and Negi discussed opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with US industry, according to the statement released by the US Department of Defence Spokesperson Cmdr Jessica Anderson.

Earlier in April, the Indo-US joint working group, operating under the Defence Tech and Trade Initiative (DTTI), convened for a two-day meeting in New Delhi to bolster defence collaboration between the two nations, the Indian Air Force said. The meeting was held on April 29-30.

During the meeting, the discussions focused on leveraging the respective strengths of both partner nations to enhance defence cooperation and co-production.

During the intensive sessions, key officials, including Brig Gen Joel W Safranek and Air Vice Marshal George Thomas, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans), delved into strategic plans aimed at deepening bilateral defence ties.