India's strategic partnership with US will be central to times ahead: says Ambassador Sandhu

As India approaches 75th year of its independence, it relentlessly peruses process of nation-building, expansion of individual liberty, and of ecomic and political empowerment, a top Indian diplomat has said, reaffirming that strength of India's strategic partnership with US will be central to times ahe. In an op-ed in Newsweek magazine, India's Ambassor to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu wrote on Wednesday that India's natural partnership with US will be a source of strength.

"As India approaches 75th year of our democracy, we remember genius of our founding fars — many of whom were inspired by ideals of American Constitution," he said.

"That moment was t an end, but rar beginning, of a relentless process of nation-building, of expansion of individual liberty and of India's ecomic, social and political empowerment. In renewing that commitment, India's natural partnership with United States will be a source of strength," Sandhu wrote in his op-ed.

op-ed 'Overcoming Challenges, Building Partnerships: Promise of a New India' was retweeted by Congressman George Holding, Co-Chair of House of Representatives Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Observing that green shoots of an ecomic rejuvenation must be nurtured with support of friends and partners, Sandhu said that strength of India's strategic partnership with US will be central to times ahe.

"Through pandemic, we have worked toger to maintain integrity of our product supplies, under stress from shorts or dependency on single country sources," he wrote.

As a responsible pharmaceutical manufacturer and stakeholder, India has kept open medical supply chains and me sure that essential medicines from India reached US and or partner countries. As world moves towards a vaccine, India's research labs and vaccine manufacturing facilities are part of global efforts—at least three of m are direct products of India-US collaboration, he wrote.

"And when vaccine will be rey for distribution, Indian companies with expertise and capabilities in manufacturing and vaccine delivery will step up to plate and play an important role in public health outreach across world, including in Africa and Latin America," Sandhu said.

India-US collaboration in health is only one example of range and depth of partnership, ambassor said.

"Alrey, we are witnessing renewed interest in India from US digital and invation giants—in last three months, more than USD 40 billion has been pledged as investments that will spur ecomic growth and create jobs in both countries, leveraging our complementarities for mutual benefit," he wrote.

"Those are t stand-alone events: from biotechlogy to artificial intelligence, defense to renewable energy, fighting against terrorism to cooperation in Indo-Pacific, re is area of human endeavour that has t benefited from our binational cooperation," he said.

High-skilled professionals and students from India bring in important skill sets and bridge techlogical gaps, enabling US companies to be globally competitive while generating more jobs, Sandhu wrote, ding that this invative lot will play an even more significant role in post-COVID ecomic recovery in America.

"But even beyond businesses and joint ventures, India and US are bound toger at people's level—our partnership founded on fundamental belief in power of our democracies and our shared values," he said.

"Through visionary foresight of political leerships in both our countries, we have built a truly extraordinary cooperation. And both our governments are committed to build on se excellent foundations and vance this partnership that t only benefits our two peoples, but also contributes to global ecomic recovery and responds to challenges of our times," Sandhu wrote.