WASHINGTON (TIP): India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said that there is a very strong base between the Indo-US relationship which is of trust and that is increasing.

Sandhu, during a reception he hosted at the India House for senior Congressional staffers, said that India and America not only have strong strategic and defense relations, but also a deep relationship in healthcare and pharma. “And that is going to deepen,” he said on Thursday, October 21.

“Today, there is a very strong base between our bilateral relationship and that base is of trust. And that trust is increasing. And that’s very important in the number of partnerships which we share,” said Sandhu, who has been making special efforts with his Congressional outreach.

As close aides of lawmakers both in the House and the Senate, Congressional staffers, a number of whom are of Indian-origin, play a key role in shaping the policies and legislative agenda of the US Congress.

Many of them in the years to come climb up the ladder to even serve in presidential administration.

India, Sandhu asserted, plays a significant role in affordable healthcare, affordable medicines and vaccines.

“I’ll just give you one example. Six years ago, both the US and India collaborated for a vaccine. We partnered in bulk production of a vaccine for another virus called RotaVirus. That collaboration got the cost of a single dose down from USD 60 to USD 1. That is the kind of depth that is there,” he said.

Reiterating that there is a huge potential between India and the US in the healthcare sector, Sandhu also referred to the cooperation in energy, climate change and renewables. Knowledge partnership and education sector is another key area of collaboration between the two countries, he said.

“I know that all of you are involved in some way or another in our bilateral relationship. I’m only going to quote what President (Joe) Biden said in 2006 that this is going to be one of the most important bilateral relations. In fact, he said, the most important. I have only added one of the most important,” Sandhu said in his address to the senior Congressional staffers. As part of his engagement with Congress, a day earlier, the ambassador hosted the leadership of the Indian Caucus at India House.

“Discussed deepening India-US relations incl, recent bilateral & QUAD Summits. Appreciate their strong support for India United States partnership (sic),” Sandhu said in a tweet.

He had another “engaging conversation” at the US Capitol with Congressman Jason Crow, a member of the House Armed Services Committee on the multifaceted India-US relations, including in vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies. “Also discussed Quad partnership and other regional developments,” Sandhu said.

The ambassador also had a substantive discussion with Senator Ben Ray Lujan on India-US partnership in health and vaccines; climate change and clean energy; education and research; Quad and deepening people-to-people ties.

(Source: PTI)