India and the U.S. on Tuesday resolved to upgrade their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership that will include issues such as defence, security cooperation and revitalisation of the Indo-Pacific quadrilateral dialogue.
Both sides also called upon Pakistan to rein in cross-border terror threats and sought justice for the victims of 26/11 attack and the Pathankot terror attack of 2016.
“They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, TTP, D Company, and all their affiliates,” said a joint statement issued at the end of President Donald Trump’s visit late on Tuesday evening.
South China Sea
Both sides also took note of the efforts of the ASEAN region to create a code of conduct in the South China Sea region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Trump also agreed to undertake development activities in third countries and intensify cooperation in the space domain
The statement said both sides had resolved to maintain the Internet as a free and secure arena. “India and the United States recognised the need for an innovative digital ecosystem that is secure and reliable, and facilitates the flow of information and data,” the statement said.
Earlier in the evening, Mr. Trump said the U.S. was working with Pakistan to defeat terrorism.
Addressing journalists at Hyderabad House, he said the Indo-Pacific region should be free and open for navigation and the 5G technology should be used for spread of freedom and not for suppression of people.
Mr. Modi observed that defence had a major role in the relationship between India and the U.S.
“In the last few years, there has been unprecedented growth in interoperability between our militaries,” he said, adding the Indian military undertook the maximum number of exercises with the U.S. military.
Mr. Trump also said the U.S. and India were working to revitalise the quadrilateral initiative consisting of Japan, the U.S., India and Australia. Both countries were also working on cybersecurity and counter-terrorism issues.
