New York [US], September 26 : Noting that the ties between India and the United States continue on an upward trajectory because the two countries are "geopolitically, economically and technologically aligned", President & CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Mukesh Aghi has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the United States was "very successful, very transformational".
In an interview with ANI, Aghi said that takeaways from PM Modi's three-day visit from September 21 to 23 is that the bilateral ties between two nations are "deeper, broader and moving in right direction."
"I think the visit was very successful. I would say it was very transformational. When you look at the takeaway, it shows that the US-India relationship is deeper, broader and moving in the right direction. But more important is to look at the substance of the takeaway. Both countries agreed to look at India as a potential technological industrial base, all the way from moonshot and cancer research down to setting up chip plants in India for the military, looking at the GE engines manufacturing to atomic drone manufacturing.. So in every aspect, the US is taking its jewels and giving them to India for manufacturing. That means setting up an industrial manufacturing base in India," he said.
USISPF President stressed that Quad Summit has become much more structured and added that four nations are looking at collaboration on Artificial Intelligence (AI), secure supply chain and sharing intelligence data.
"Quad Summit, if you look at it, has become much more structured. When it started, it was a summit which was focused more on all the navies getting together and trying to help disaster. But now it's become very, very structured. When you look at the economies of four countries, it's USD 35 trillion. They're looking at collaborating on AI, looking at collaborating on secure supply chain, they're looking at collaborating on sharing intelligence data. So, I think it's become a much more, more, I would say, a non-announced alliances than anything else."
Quad is a diplomatic partnership between four countries--Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. US President Joe Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese for the Quad Leaders' Summit at his hometown Wilmington in Delaware on September 21. It was the fourth in-person and sixth overall Quad Leaders' Summit.
Aghi said that the ties between the US and India will continue on an upward trajectory irrespective of who becomes US President in the elections.
He also said that Indian diaspora is playing a pivotal role in the US presidential polls.
"I think whoever comes in, the impact on the US-India relationship does not go in a downward direction. The relationship continues in an upward trajectory because India and the US are geopolitically aligned, economically aligned, technologically aligned. So, I think it's important to understand, regardless of who comes in, now the elections are too close to call, too close in every aspect because when you have an electoral college system, 10,000 votes in a district will make a difference itself."
"So, I think it's too early to say who will win, but the Indian diaspora is playing a very pivotal role. We saw the last data - almost 68 per cent are going to vote Democratic, the survey shows, and the remaining are going to vote for Republicans itself. But, the trend is moving in the upward direction in Republicans' favour also. Normally, it used to be Indians would vote for Democrats, but now what you're saying is business community is focusing more on Republican candidates itself," he added.
Apart from taking part in the Quad Summit, PM Modi had bilateral meetings with serveral leaders including Biden, engaged with the Indian diaspora and important American business leaders and addressed the Summit of the Future at the United Nations.
The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), formed in 2017, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices across both countries.