New Delhi: India on Friday said it is looking for a "bolder, bigger and more ambitious" relationship with the US and indicated its readiness to work with the Trump administration to address issues like illegal immigration and trade.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India's approach has always been to address issues constructively in line with the interests of both countries.
Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the Trump administration's approach to immigration and tariffs. President Trump has already talked about slapping "100 per cent tariffs" on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India as well.
We remain in close communication with the US administration and would like to continue to work towards strengthening our economic partnership further, Jaiswal said. India is focused on building a "bolder, bigger and more ambitious" relationship with the US, he added.
Referring to India's ongoing dialogue with the US on matters related to both trade and immigration, Jaiswal hoped that both sides would be able to address any issue.
Trade occupies a special place within the strong and multi-faceted India-US relationship, and the two sides reached a record level of trade in goods and services worth USD 190 billion in 2023, Jaiswal said.
"The new US government has come in recently, whatever trade issues are there, we will take it out. We want to enhance the record levels of trade, and further expand it," he said.
Asked about reports that the US Department of homeland security identified around 18,000 illegal immigrants from India, Jaiswal said New Delhi is opposed to illegal immigration. India is opposed to illegal immigration because of its links to several forms of organised crime, he said.
"We will take them back provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality, that they are indeed Indians," he said. At the same time, he said it would be "premature" to talk about the number of illegal Indian immigrants staying in the US.
In his remarks, Jaiswal also talked about a "warm" personal relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump.
To a question on Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's reported presence at the inauguration ceremony of Trump, Jaiswal said: "Whenever there is an anti-India activity, we take up such matters with the US government. We will continue to raise such issues with the US government which have a bearing on our security, which have an anti-India agenda."
