US, India more than just bilateral partners: Mike Pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said India and the United States were more than just bilateral partners.
Pompeo said this in a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Pompeo met his Indian counterpart, Jaishankar, to prepare the groundwork for the summit level meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on July 28. Jaishankar will also accompany PM Modi for the summit.
"US-India partnership is already beginning to reach new heights, including our defence corporation and our common vision for free and open Indo-Pacific," Pompeo said, at the press briefing in New Delhi.
Jaishankar echoed the sentiment and said: "Both, as countries and as foreign ministers, harmonising our interests and our views -- that's really the task of diplomacy. Obviously, from time to time in any relationship, specific issues will arise and I think we have discussed many of those issues."
"We discussed a number of bilateral and global issues. We had a discussion on terrorism too. I took the opportunity to express our appreciation for the strong support that we have received from the Trump administration. Both countries have agreed on the concept of zero tolerance for cross border terrorism," Jaishankar added.
Jaishankar further said the two had a major discussion on the Indo-Pacific region too.
"I made the point that Indo-Pacific is for something, not against somebody -- that something is peace, security, stability, and prosperity. We are looking at a landscape where a number of independent players work together for what they believe to be global good," he said.
When asked about the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) issue', Jaishankar stated that India would do what is in its best interest.
Prior to this meeting, Mike Pompeo met PM Modi in New Delhi to discuss several contentious issues as well as ways to strengthen the India-US ties.
Jaishankar also hosted a working lunch for Pompeo on Wednesday afternoon.
This is the first high-level engagement between India and US government.
Pompeo will, later in the day, interact with Indian and US businesses at a round table meet and deliver a policy speech at the India International Centre in Delhi Wednesday evening.
Pompeo is in India till June 27.
