US Senator Mark Warner hopes Modi-Trump talks strengthen India-US ties

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump in France a powerful US senator said the United States should be strengthening not weakening its partnership with India arguing that punitive tariffs had sent the wrong signal to a key strategic partnerWell Ive not gotten a readout of the meeting I hope it will improve relations Senator Mark Warner told IANS in response to a question on the meeting between PM Modi and President Trump The Virginia Democrat said IndiaUS ties remain critically important and stressed the need for Washington to continue investing in the relationshipIm proud to be the cochair of the India Caucus in the Senate I think ties between India and America are extraordinarily important he said Warner argued that successive US administrations had spent years encouraging India to deepen cooperation with Washington and reduce its dependence on RussiaFor the last 25 years we have tried to move India away from reliance on Russia and move more as a fellow democracy into alliance with us he said He pointed to initiatives such as the Quad which brings together India the United States Japan and Australia as part of broader efforts to strengthen cooperation among major democracies in the IndoPacific regionThe senator said he was particularly puzzled by Trumps decision last year to sharply increase tariffs on Indian goods So it was beyond baffling to me that earlier or last year that for a while President Trump arbitrarily raised tariffs on India to some of the highest in the world Warner saidThe top Democratic Senator felt such measures risked undermining broader US strategic objectives in Asia at a time when Washington has been seeking to counter Chinas growing influence and reduce Indias historical dependence on MoscowNow weve been working to try to move India away from China away from Russia and all that did was drive India back to think well maybe partnering with Americas not our best bet he saidWarner said he intended to seek a detailed readout of the discussions between PM Modi and Trump but emphasised that strengthening bilateral ties should remain a priority for both governments This is I think one of the top two or three geopolitical relationships of the 21st century And we need to strengthen this tie not weaken it he saidThe senators remarks came a day after PM Modi and Trump met on the sidelines of international meetings in France amid ongoing discussions on trade defence cooperation and broader strategic issues India and the United States have steadily expanded engagement across sectors ranging from defence and critical technologies to energy education and supplychain resilienceOver the past two decades IndiaUS relations have evolved into one of Washingtons most significant partnerships in the IndoPacific The two countries have signed major defence agreements increased military exercises and expanded cooperation in emerging technologies semiconductors artificial intelligence and critical mineralsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever