India an extraordinary success story, says US Secy of State Blinken; praises Modi govt

Davos, Jan 17 (PTI) Describing India as an "extraordinary success story", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the "remarkable achievements" of the Modi government have materially benefitted and positively impacted so many Indian lives.

Speaking here at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, he also said the US-India relations have reached a new high with efforts from both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden.

At the same time, a regular part of the conversation between the two countries has been about democracy and rights, Blinken said.

"It's part of a very sustained, very real conversation and a conversation we hope produces positive change and that's the case with India," he said.

He was replying to a question on whether the rise of Hindu nationalism in India concerns the US despite the country's robust economic growth and infrastructure building under the Modi regime.

Talking about how he and the US look at India, Blinken said, "We see an extraordinary success story and see the remarkable achievements that Prime Minister Modi has achieved under his watch that has materially benefitted and positively affected so many Indian lives." "We also see the relationship between our two countries that has reached a new place and a new level and that I think has been a very deliberate effort on part of both Prime Minister Modi and President Biden to position it so," he added.

The US Secretary of State further said, "At the same time, a constant regular part of our conversation is the conversation about democracy, about rights." "When the President took office, we wanted to make sure that we put back into our foreign policy these fundamental concerns about democracy and about human rights and we have done that. We do it in different ways in different places. Maybe because of the relationship we may have with a country, with a government," he added. PTI