US President believes ties with India is one of most important relationships: White House

Washington, Apr 9: President Joe Biden believes that the US-India partnership is the most important relationship the United States has in the world, said White House on Friday.

The Indo-US two-plus-two ministerial here next week will continue to drive forward the Administration's work with New Delhi, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said ahead of the meeting.

"We also believe both sides will continue our close consultations on the consequences of President Putin's brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating the impact by addressing energy and food prices. Obviously, it could cover a range of topics, but we expect that to be a central one," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are all set to host their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the 2+2 ministerial on Monday. This is the first such meeting between the two countries under the Biden Administration.

The two Indian leaders are expected to arrive in Washington DC over the weekend. "President Biden believes our partnership with India is one of the most important relationships we have in the world. As you know, he met with Prime Minister (Narendra)Modi and other Quad leaders in March. He expects that at this 2+2, Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin, will continue driving forward our work with India and our shared goals in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world," Psaki said.

Meanwhile, Congressman Mark Green met India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. "Met with India's Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu this week. Our countries' strong partnership is critical. Grateful for the opportunity to reaffirm the US-India relationship," he said in a tweet. PTI