‘International treasure..,’ US Ambassador Garcetti lauds NSA Ajit Doval

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Tuesday praises National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, describing him as a global asset and acknowledging his remarkable journey from a humble background in Uttarakhand.

Garcetti also emphasizes the strong and valuable relationship between the United States and India.

At the United States-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) meet in Delhi, Garcetti said, “When I look at the foundation between the United States and India, it is so strong, it is so clear that Indians love Americans and Americans love Indians.”

Speaking on the digital payment infrastructure, the US Ambassador stressed, “When I look at digital payments and financial technology that India has, we have rocked the world. A 'tea wala' in a village makes sure that she gets direct payment from the government on her phone, a 100 per cent of each one of those rupees.”

During his two-day visit to India, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval to discuss various regional and global matters of shared concern.

Sullivan was joined by a delegation of high-ranking US government officials and representatives from American industries. This visit coincides with the upcoming state visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States.

Earlier in the day, the two national security advisers engaged in closed-door discussions to address shared areas of interest. Subsequently, they both participated in the second Track 1.5 dialogue on the subject, which was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The official release of the Ministry of External Affairs said that the first edition of this dialogue was organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC on January 30 this year.

As part of his visit, NSA Sullivan is scheduled to hold meetings with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and various other government officials, according to the official statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs.

In a previous meeting, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval convened in New Delhi to discuss topics related to the Indo-Pacific region, as well as collaboration in specialized technologies within the maritime, military, and aerospace sectors.

Government officials have revealed that during their discussion, the two leaders emphasized the importance of technology transfer, co-production, and the development of indigenous capabilities in alignment with India's Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiatives.

Furthermore, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and NSA Ajit Doval underscored the significance of countries across various regions, such as the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, and the Indo-Pacific, maintaining their freedom to make decisions based on their national priorities, without being coerced into unfavourable choices.

Following his arrival in India, Defense Secretary Austin finalized a roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation in collaboration with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.

(With inputs from agencies)