US dedicated to India's rise on world stage: Envoy Juster

The United States government is dedicated to supporting India's rise on the world stage, said outgoing US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster on Tuesday, adding that New Delhi's expanding economy is likely to become an important driver for growth in the Indo-Pacific region.

Juster, in his farewell address on the US-India partnership, said the Indo-Pacific is particularly "significant" for India and US relationship because it recognises the reality that India and the Indian ocean are inextricably tied to East Asia and the Pacific.

"US govt is dedicated to not just bilateral relationships but to supporting India's rise on the world stage. US National Security Strategy put it down on paper in 2017, welcoming India's emergence as a leading power & a stronger strategic and defence partner," he said.

"The Indo Pacific is particularly significant for India and US relationship because it recognises the reality that India and Indian ocean are inextricably tied to the East Asia and Pacific. India's expanding economy is likely to become an important driver for growth in the region," he added.

Juster said that Washington sees New Delhi as a "critical partner" for persevering and expanding the peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

"For the India US relationship, Indo Pacific means that at a time of great change and challenge we see India as a critical partner for persevering and expanding the peace and prosperity that has underpinned this dynamic region. Both India and the US have adapted our internal institution to this regional orientation. We have come to a consensus on the geographical contours of this region. Stretching from its shores of Eastcoast of Africa to West Coast of United States," he said.

The Ambassador said that the Indo Pacific region is rich in natural resources and it is fast becoming the center of gravity of the evolving international system especially by the rise of China and more recently by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Indo-Pacific region encompasses the fastest and largest growing economies in the world most populous nations. More than 50 per cent of international trade passes through its waters. The region is rich in natural resources and it is fast becoming the center of gravity of the evolving international system. Indeed, the tectonic plates of that system have shifted marked especially by the rise of China and more recently by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which has devastated health, and economy in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere," he said.

While highlighting that the Indo-Pacific region "needs stability, leadership and a democratic model for development that does not threaten the sovereignty of other countries", the Ambassador said that "a strong and democratic India is an important partner to promote peace and prosperity".

He further said that while in the past four years, the United States and India have shown the ambition to have a free and stable Indo-Pacific, "The concept of Indo-Pacific has been many years in the making. It is in the past four years that our countries have shown the ambition to turn it into reality."

( With inputs from ANI )