Emphasising on the need for partnerships among nations to tackle terrorism, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said that shared values of democracy, freedom of speech and rule of law constitute key pillars of the Indo-US strategic partnership.
"At a very fundamental level, our popular and bipartisan support in both countries and shared values of democracy, freedom of speech and rule of law constitute key pillars of our strategic partnership," Swaraj said at the India-United States Strategic and Commercial Dialogue that is being held in Washington.
"The emerging context of the India-US political, strategic, security and economic ties continues to be constantly shaped by international geopolitics, the strength of the Indian economy amidst global economic uncertainties and the need for partnership among democracies to respond to global challenges like terrorism," she added.
Swaraj further said that Indo-US ties were going through a busy phase.
"It's important we set timelines to achieve our targets, we look forward to busier schedules in months ahead. One of the defining characteristics of our bilateral agenda since last July has been purposeful action to implement decisions," she said.
Tuesday's India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue will see delegations of both nations holding discussions in areas of mutual interest and identify possible areas for collaboration.
The dialogue is seen as the most comprehensive mechanism for discussion and deliberation on the specifics of bilateral agenda of cooperation in different fields between India and the United States.
Apart from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the Indian delegation comprises of Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, besides senior Indian Government officials.
