WASHINGTON: The Indo-US relationship has evolved into a very deep partnership which is more than what is generally acknowledged; outgoing Indian envoy Arun K Singh has said and voiced confidence that the bilateral ties would further advance under the next US President.
“I think in many ways there is a very deep partnership more than what is generally acknowledged and recognized,” Singh, who retired on August 31, told PTI.
“There is a deep linkage between India and the US,” Singh said, citing the example of people-to-people relationship in particularly those in the Silicon Valley.
“Indian-origin tech companies, Indian-origin tech entrepreneurs are an integral part of the effort in the US in the digital technology where US is in the lead,” he said, adding that there is “a very very deep” connection developing in business and technology which will have a longer term impact.
“There is a tremendous potential going ahead. We see similarity of values, whether we are looking at democracy, human rights. So with all that there is a sense in both countries that this is a relationship from which we both benefit,” he said.
“This is a relationship which is important in today’s global context where you see a lot of uncertainty, both economic, political; where you see violence, where you see terrorism; where you see approaches based on exclusion rather than multiculturalism and pluralism,” he said.
“So there is a lot of value in this relationship. So therefore as a diplomat between 2008-13 and since last year it has been fascinating being part of this process,” he added.
Firmly of the view that there is now a broad bi-partisan support to this relationship in the US, Singh said the ties should move forward irrespective of who is the next US president.
“When Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) was here in June, he had come here at the invitation of US President, but (House) Speaker Paul Ryan, who is a Republican, invited him to address Joint Session of the US Congress, which as anybody could see was a lot of energy, excitement and it went off very very well,” he said.
“I am confident that whoever is the next president and people around them would work to advance this relationship,” Singh said.
A 1979 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Singh said it is generally recognized that Indian diplomacy over a period of time has gained “more and more impact”.
In a career spanning 37 years, Singh served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs both in India and overseas, including representing India as its top diplomat in three key nations of Israel, France and the US.
This was Singh’s second stint at the Indian Embassy in Washington. He served as the Deputy Chief of Mission from October 2008 to 2013 after which he was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to France.
Singh assumed his new assignment as Ambassador of India to US on April 30, 2015 after being the country’s top diplomat in France from April, 2013 to April, 2015.
He said as India has emerged more and more at the international scene, the impact of “Indian diplomacy has clearly increased”.–PTI
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