The United States sees India, an emerging global and regional power, taking a larger role upon the world stage, a top Pentagon official said.
“In terms of the role of India in the world, we’re very pleased. We really see India taking a larger role upon the world stage and understanding that they have a role as an emerging power and as a realised power and that they have a responsibility to be a part of the global community,” the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia, Mr Robert Scher, told presspersons at a Pentagon news conference yesterday.
“I think you see it in the UN. You see it in the G-20. And this is a lot of the strategic partnership that (US) President (Barack) Obama and the Prime Minister, Dr (Manmohan) Singh, have talked about is working together to address regional and global issues,” Mr Scher said in response to a question at the rare Pentagon news conference on India.
“Certainly out of the field of defence, but if you look at cooperation in Africa, where we are cooperating to deal with some development issues, if you look at peacekeeping operations and the tremendous commitment that India has made to international peacekeeping operations, you can’t but be impressed and see that this is a constructive role that they’re playing,” he said.
“I think the potential for this is also quite great. And this is where we look forward to doing some of our best work together in solving problems that confront the region and the globe,” Mr Scher said.
Mr Scher said US-India relationship is a priority for the Obama Administration and for the Department of Defence, because they believe that a strong bilateral partnership is in the United States’ interests and benefits both of the countries.