US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma has said bilateral strategic and economic ties between the two countries will continue to grow under Donald Trump.

“As events unfold over the next several weeks of the transition, a new cabinet and administration priorities will emerge. There is no question in my mind that further building and strengthening of the US-India relationship will be one of those top priorities,” Verma told industry leaders here on Friday at an event organised by FICCI.

Nuclear pact

Verma also hinted that under the new Republican administration, the long awaited US-India Civil Nuclear Deal might get concluded, which will be the largest ever civil nuke pact.

“We’ve seen that with the closing of billion dollar deals in locomotives, aerospace and defence, and soon to be civil nuclear, which when signed, will be one of the largest civil nuclear deals ever concluded, providing power to some 63 million people,” he said.

Incidentally, when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had signed the nuclear pact in 2005, it was with a Republican US President, George W Bush.

Verma also said the vision of India as an outsourcing destination is “outdated” and that trade and investment ties are growing each year.

Both sides have set a target of achieving $500 billion worth of bilateral trade.

Speaking on the Joint Strategic Vision for Cooperation that was signed during the last visit of US President Barack Obama to India, the Ambassador said there will be renewed convergence on issues related to counter-terrorism, peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation, and economic integration.

“We see our renewed convergence on issues related to Afghanistan, our trilateral cooperation with Japan, the increasing complexity, pace and character of our military exercises, and we see it in a recent and historic designation of India as a Major Defense Partner,” he said.

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