New York | The US-India trade deal is going to "unleash another level" of bilateral relations that haven't been accomplished in decades, a Senior State Department Official has said.
The official said the two countries were "90 per cent there" with the deal, with only a few final issues being worked out.
"I would say stay tuned, which we keep saying, but we are we are very close it's like a 90-per cent-plus there and just those final things being worked out, so I hope you're going to see something very soon on that," the official said in response to a question by PTI on when the trade deal between India and the US is expected to be inked.
"And that's really going to just unleash another level of US-India relations, something that hasn't really we haven't been able to get there in decades when it comes to trade.
"This has always been the most sticking point in the relationship. And so I think we're very close and it's going to be, I think, very, very exciting when we get there," the official said.
On another question on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's upcoming visit to India in October, the person said, "This is all part of the continuous growth and attention to the US-India partnership. There's a lot happening." Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the US for the G20 Summit being hosted by the US in Florida in December. The official said there may be some big announcements on that front. "There's just a lot happening in the relationship." The official said it will be the third time the foreign ministers meet this year related to the Quad.
"That's unprecedented. They've never met this many times, and I think that just tells you the attention that we're giving, the importance of this diplomatic grouping, the importance that India also places on it, as well as Japan and Australia. And stay tuned as well," the official said.
The Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting will be hosted in New Delhi in May. "I think you'll see some other exciting things come out of that later next month," the official said.
Responding to a question on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), the person said, "It's absolutely a huge priority" of the United States and India." The official added that the corridor met with road bumps because of happenings in the Middle East, but stability in the region can put things back on track.
"I think on the India side and on the US side, we're ready to go. But because of some of the challenges we've had over the years, starting from the beginning of the administration – the president came in and we were still dealing with Israel/Gaza. That certainly paused things.
"And then obviously Iran and Operation Midnight Hammer, that paused things. And so every it's really being held in the Middle East. So I think when things can stabilise, you're really going to see IMEC take off," the official said..
The US is excited about IMEC and efforts are already on to map out some of these routes, especially the ship – the trucking routes, the person said. "But the Middle East I think those countries, Saudi, Jordan, the UAE, and Israel – they're still going to have to figure out their pieces of this," the official added.
