US NSA Jake Sullivan Says US-India 'Natural Partners': 'Built On Intention, Choice, Determination...'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The National Security Advisor of the United States, Jake Sullivan who is on a visit to India described the US and India as "natural partners," linked by their democracies, companies, universities, and people.

He emphasized that the US-India partnership is built on intention, choice, determination, leadership, and perseverance. He noted that the potential for this partnership is boundless, with much more to be achieved in the future.

At an event in IIT Delhi during the session, 'The United States and India: Building a shared future', he said, "The partnership we have built is one of intention, of choice, one of determination, of leadership, and frankly, one of perseverance and grit."

Dwelling upon the phrase coined for India and the US, calling them "natural partners", Sullivan remarked, "Over the years I've noticed that people have referred to the United States and India as natural partners...In many ways that's true. Our democracies are linked, our companies are linked, our universities are linked and more than anything else, our people are linked".

He expressed pride in the work done by the two countries to shape the technologies of the future and shared the progress India and the US have made when it comes to providing technological access and the strides in their cooperation in this field.

The US Development Finance Corporation has invested nearly USD 1 billion in solar panel manufacturing in Tamil Nadu, supporting India's transition to clean energy.

Sharing that India and the US are working together in the field of clean and affordable technologies, Sullivan said, "The US Development Finance Corporation is engaged in path-breaking partnerships with Indian companies to localise and scale solar manufacturing. That includes investing nearly a billion dollars in solar panel manufacturing in Tamil Nadu and providing support for leading Indian manufacturing, including Tata Power renewables."

Sullivan reaffirmed America' s strong support for India, highlighting the significant progress made in their technological cooperation and strategic partnership.

He added, "In the past year we concluded a new initiative on clean energy supply chains that lays out a path for our countries to deploy clean energy across Africa, to work with African partners on high-impact solar projects, on electric vehicle projects, and we're not stopping with clean energy. Our technology partnership is delivering affordable public goods in numerous ways."

The US and India are collaborating on various initiatives, including the QUAD, to deliver affordable public goods, such as open RAN technology, AI-driven agricultural solutions, and satellite data.

"Through the QUAD, for example, we've announced plans to deliver open RAN technology which will bring 5G and 6G to the world. AI-driven agricultural solutions, cutting edge satellite data to developing economies, and at the G20 here in Delhi in September of 2023, we together announced the launch of the India Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC), an ambitious initiative linking India, the Middle East, and ultimately Europe with the sea and rail corridor and fibre and electricity and energy connections," said the US NSA.

The US and India launched IMEC, an ambitious initiative linking India, the Middle East, and Europe through sea, rail, and digital corridors.

Referring to the crises in West Asia, and how the IMEC was launched merely a few weeks before October 7th which saw the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict, Sullivan said, "It (IMEC) got disrupted with the events and the crises in the Middle East, but we have continued to nurture the vision of IMEC, and I have personally engaged with the key countries and key leaders to keep making progress. I've also talked to the incoming administration about the enormous opportunity that IMEC presents to deliver both growth and integration and a high-standard alternative to what Beijing has on offer."

After highlighting the various areas of collaboration between India and the US Sullivan noted, "The bottom line of all of these efforts that I've just laid out is that the potential for this (India-US) partnership to a large extent has already been realised, but in realising it, we recognise it's boundless. There is so much more for us to be able to do as we go forward."

Notably, the two nations are strengthening their defence partnership, with India designated as a major defence partner of the US.

Tracing the trajectory of decisions taken over years by both Indian and American leadership, Sullivan gave examples of how the US-India civil nuclear agreement concluded by US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, or India's designation as a major defence partner of the United States in 2016, or President Biden and Prime Minister Modi's decision to manufacture advanced jet engine technology and explore space together- he said none of these were natural occurrences but rather step by step the two countries have worked to build trust and cooperation to move our partnership past what Prime Minister Modi has called our hesitations of history.

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