'Excited to be in India, will be meeting PM Modi today'

NEW DELHI: US Representative Congressman Rich McCormick, who is part of the American Congressional delegation visiting India, on Wednesday said that he is looking forward to his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

“I'm really excited about today, we're going to meet Prime Minister Modi and several other dignitaries and once again continue to advance the relationship between our two great countries”, McCormick said in an exclusive interview with ANI.

McCormick who represents Georgia's 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives also hailed the recent visit of PM Modi to America stating “there's never been a better time for developing these relationships.” “I think there's never been a better time for developing these relationships. His (PM Modi) visit to America was special, it's the second time he's been over there. That's unique. The largest democracy in the world coming to visit America. And now we're here in force to have a bipartisan group of congressmen to continue to develop this relationship that I think it's going to be essential in the future”, said McCormick.

Speaking about the India-US relationship and threats from China, the Congressman said that it is important to develop a strong relationship. “We continue to develop trust given the fact that we've had a long history of coordinated efforts, but this is going to be something unique as we go into this next generation of threats, especially with the proximity to China and other countries. Developing a strong relationship strategically, economically and militarily so that we can trust each other into the future”, McCormick said.

Hailing India’s economic growth, the congressman said that it will be interesting to see India become a more powerful ally. “Last night we met with a bunch of businesses. There's a huge military industry here in India that I think is going to be partnering with this in the future which is going to help not only the economy but also the strength of India. We spend roughly over 800 billion on our military, and India's closer to 60 billion. But as India grows its economy which is gonna grow in tremendous ways in the next decade. It's gonna be interesting to see India become a more powerful ally. It's able to defend itself against anybody which is going to be great for both countries”, said McCormick. Highlighting the role of Indian-Americans, Rich said that they continue to benefit both countries.

“When you talk about the diaspora in the United States. You're talking about the most successful demographic in the wealthiest country in the world. That only speaks well to India's perseverance and productivity, creativity, hard work, intelligence, all the great things. It's a testimony to the Indian people, which I think is great for reputation, great for relationships. Look forward to developing that as we continue because it benefits both countries”, he said.

“You have 200,000 students right now in America, from India, learning incredible skills and technologies that they can bring back here to this country to continue to build their industry which is needed in both countries when it comes to developing economies”, he said