New Delhi: Raising a toast to India-US friendship and to peace and prosperity of the people of both the nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he took part in several meeting over the last three days and one issue that remained common in all these meetings was that the relation between India and the United States should deepen further.
PM Modi made the statements at a luncheon that was hosted by US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.
“I would like to thank VP Kamala Harris and Secretary Blinken for this grand welcome. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for your warm words. Today, I am delighted to be before you once again at the State Department. In the last three days, I participated in numerous meetings. In all these meetings, one thing was common. Everyone agreed that friendship and cooperation should further deepen between the people of India and US," PM Modi said.
"In 2014 during my visit to the US, President Biden who was at the US State Department at the time defined India-US friendship as "A promise over the horizon." In the last nine years, we have taken a long and beautiful journey together in areas of defence, emerging technologies and trade. We are progressing as we work in the frameworks of Quad and I2U2. From the earth to the sky, from space to the depths of oceans, India and US can be seen working together," he said.
Notably, PM Modi became the first Indian leader to address the joint session of the US Congress twice on Thursday. He first addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress in 2016.
"The US-India partnership is stronger than ever. Together, our nations will shape the future as we work to create a more prosperous, secure, and healthy world. The partnership between the United States and India is one of the most important of the 21st century, and this visit will take our partnership to the next level — from space to defence, to emerging technology and supply chains," Harris' office tweeted on Thursday.