Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are in Delhi for the fifth edition of the '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial dialogue which is aimed at taking forward India-US futuristic roadmap for deeper strategic cooperation.
Look to India to stay an independent foreign policy course, pursuing its national interests in a multipolar world, instead of joining the U.S. kennel of poodles.
Speaking to a group of civil society leaders at a New Delhi hotel, US Secretary Anthony Blinken said that the relationship between the US and India was "one of the most important in the world".
Strategic value of the Indo-US partnership is predicated upon a democratic and pluralistic India, which has been an island of stability in a volatile region surrounded by a wide swath of Islamic states.