New Delhi: The US is working “very closely” with international partners to secure India’s Nuclear Suppliers Group membership, its envoy Kenneth Juster said on Thursday and hoped that New Delhi would join the Australia Group on chemical and biological weapons soon.
India has been seeking entry into the 48-member elite nuclear club, which controls nuclear trade, but China has repeatedly stonewalled its bid.
Mr Juster said the United States would not tolerate any cross-border terrorism or safe havens, adding that security assistance had been suspended by the US to Pakistan as they (Pakistan) were not doing enough to curb terror. He was speaking at an event on the subject “India-US Relations: Building a Durable Partnership for the 21st century”.
The US envoy said his country saw India as a leading power in the Indo-Pacific and that India was a net provider for regional security in the Indian Ocean.
The US envoy also spoke about acquisition of American-made weaponry and platforms by India, saying the US did not want to be just a defence supplier but that the two countries could work together in various spheres, even producing fighter aircraft.
He also said “America First and Make in India” were “not incompatible” and that both can “create jobs” in both countries.
Praising Indians, he said 33 per cent of all immigrant-founded start-ups in the US have Indian founders.
