It is meaningful, the world’s largest democracy, India, is allied with the oldest democracy, America, Congressman Joe Wilson said

With the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past year, India has surpassed the United Kingdom and France in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), says Congressman Joe Wilson. Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, he said India is a testament to the success of economic freedom.

“India’s evolution from socialism to a free market economy reducing poverty is a testament to the success of economic freedom,” The Times of India quoted him saying. The World Population Review, a US-based think tank, in February said that India emerged as the world’s fifth largest economy by overtaking the UK and France in 2019.

The American Congressman said the alliance of India and America, as per the report, was underscored on September 22 last year in Houston when President Donald Trump welcomed PM Modi to America. “With President Trump re-naming Pacific Command to Indo-Pacific Command, the alliance of India and America has never been stronger. It is meaningful, the world’s largest democracy, India is allied with the oldest democracy, America,” Wilson said.

To signal India’s importance to the US military, in 2018, the United States renamed its oldest and largest military command - the Pacific Command - to Indo-Pacific Command.