The relationship between the US and India will continue to grow in importance because of the shared democratic values and strategic interests, particularly in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region, a top Democratic leader in the US Congress has said.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the region.

“The relationship between the United States and India is an important one now and will continue to grow in importance because of our shared democratic values. India being the largest democracy in the world, our shared democratic values, and our shared strategic interests, particularly in the Indo-Pacific,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a gathering of eminent Indian Americans at the US Capitol during the India-US Summit organised on Wednesday by Congressman Ro Khanna in his capacity as Co-Chair of the Congressional India Caucus.

“Your presence here today is so important. The Indian-American community matters. The caucus that role leads matters. Your voice matters. The values that you have brought to Capitol Hill matter. You have my commitment that I will continue to work closely with Roe (Khanna) and with (Congressman) Raja (Krishnamoorthi) and the (Congressional India) caucus, to make sure that we can strengthen the relationship between the United States and India to tackle some of the geopolitical challenges that we face in a cooperative, robust way,” Jefferies added.

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