India to have `pre-eminent` role in South Asia: US

Lalit K Jha
Washington, May 8 (PTI) The US Saturday acknowledged that
India will always have a pre-eminent role in South Asia where
it can be a very important force for stability and said it
looks forward to its first strategic dialogue with the country
in June at the level of Foreign Ministers.
"The first strategic dialogue between India and the
United States next month is going to be a very important event
in our bilateral relations," Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told PTI.
This would mark the first time the two sides would be
holding a strategic dialogue at the level of US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton and India's External Affairs Minister
S M Krishna, Blake said in response to a question.
"We understand that the External Affairs Minister Krishna
would be bringing a high-level delegation with him, we look
forward to not only a comprehensive review of the progress we
have made in ... our cooperation, but also to reviewing some
of the very important regional issues that are on our
bilateral agenda," he said.
"And we would also look forward to the President's
(Barack Obama's) visit to India later this fall. So this is a
very welcome opportunity and would be another strong
affirmation, strong friendship and strong partnership between
the United States and India," Blake said.
Blake, who was in China last week for the Sino-US
strategic dialogue on South Asia, said both the United States
and China are sensitive to Indian concerns in the region.
"India will continue to have a preeminent role in the South
Asian region, and it is in all of our interest to work very
closely with our friends in India to achieve our common
objectives," he said.
Noting that the Chinese have a growing role in South Asia
and around the world, Blake said his principal message to them
was that the United States would like to coordinate more and
better with Beijing, since they have growing assistance
programme and investment in South Asia.
"In many cases, we have similar interest in many parts of
South Asia. So it is in our interest therefore to coordinate
with them on assistance so that we do not duplicate our
efforts in important places like Afghanistan," he said.
Observing that there is a need to work with the European
Union, China and a lot of countries that have interest in
various parts of South Asia, Blake said: "But, I think, India
will always have the pre-eminent role.
"We understand that, the Chinese understand that India
can be a very important force for good and for stability in
this part of the region. So it is important for all of us to
work with India." (More) PTI