NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that based on close ties between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and America’s President Donald Trump, the India-US relation will continue to grow.
During a press conference in Spain’s Madrid, Jaishankar discussed the comprehensive advancement in US-India bilateral relations. The EAM is currently on a diplomatic visit to Spain till January 14 (today), making it his first visit to Spain as the foreign minister.
“We saw very strong growth in different dimensions of India-US relations. So based on our previous record and based on close contacts between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, we are very confident that our relationship will continue to grow. And at the inauguration (of President-elect Trump), I will be representing my government,” Jaishankar said while standing along with Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares.
Jaishankar will be representing India at the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.
The minister drew attention to India’s substantial interests in the Mediterranean region, citing annual trade figures of USD 80 billion. He emphasised India’s anticipated increased presence in the region and the significance of Spanish support.
“India has a fairly strong interest in the Mediterranean. When we look at the Mediterranean as a region, our annual trade with the Mediterranean today is about $80 billion… I do want to underline that India will be more visible in the Mediterranean in times to come, and certainly, in that process, we count very much on Spain’s support,” he said.
Addressing global uncertainties, Jaishankar emphasised the importance of cooperation between nations sharing similar values and interests. He expressed confidence that strengthened India-Spain relations and enhanced India-EU collaboration would contribute to global stability.
“The world may look today a little volatile and uncertain. It is important that countries and partners who have similar attitudes and converging interests work more closely. I’m very confident that strong India-Spain relations and a strong India-EU collaboration can be a stabilising factor in a turbulent world,” the EAM added.