The US is now the second largest arms supplier to India as it has moved from no arms to a business of 20 billion dollars in just a decade

US President Donald Trump has worked the maximum to expand all facets of the US partnership with India which no other US President has done, a PTI report carried by Outlook has suggested. A White House official has said the Trump Administration will continue to build the partnership in the coming years, the report has said.

A senior administration official from the National Security Council of the White House said, “President Trump has prioritised the US-India relationship and worked to expand all facets of the partnership over the last three-and-a-half years.”

The Trump Administration has elevated and solidified the US-India relationship in ways not seen before in any other US administration, he added.

According to the report, the relationship between the two countries have become all the more important during COVID-19 pandemic. The official said, “As global leaders with vibrant democracies, the United States and India have cooperated to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. US and Indian pharmaceutical companies have collaborated to expand global supplies of critical medicines and are cooperating on vaccine development.”

The official highlighted the defence cooperation partnerships between the countries and said that the Trump administration has worked hard towards building a comprehensive, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership between the countries.

As a result, the US is now the second largest arms supplier to India. The partnership has moved from no arms to a business of 20 billion dollars in just a decade. In fact, earlier this year, the two nations closed a 3 billion defence sales deal which included MH-60R naval helicopters and additional AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, the report said.

The official said that the relationship saw a new high during the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in September last year followed by ‘Namaste Trump’ event in February this year. He said that the credit also goes to PM Modi for his skilled policy towards the US.