US envoy Haley sees opportunities for expanded India-US ties

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley yesterday said she saw opportunities in developing stronger ties with India in multiple ways, especially in countering terrorism and military cooperation. Haley said her two-day visit to India is aimed at solidifying the partnership between the two countries.

Haley, the South Carolina-born daughter of Indian immigrants, told reporters in New Delhi that both countries have a willingness to strengthen their partnership. “We see those opportunities between the United States and India in a multiple level of ways. Whether it’s countering terrorism […] whether it’s the fact that we’re going to start to work together more strongly on the military aspect. There is a lot of things that India and the U.S. have in common,” she said.

U.S.-India relations have generally prospered in the past decade, in part because of their shared concerns about the rise of China. Both sides share goals of security, free navigation, free trade and fighting militants in the Indo-Pacific region.

To improve India’s military capabilities, the United Sates has offered to sell it unarmed Guardian surveillance drones, aircraft carrier technologies and F-18 and F-16 fighter aircraft.

Haley was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Earlier yesterday, Haley visited the majestic tomb of Mughal emperor Humayun and Save Childhood Movement, a center for rescued children run by 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi. She ends her visit to India today. AP