NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Narendra Modi Aug 29 said India's strategic partnership with the US is an important pillar of its foreign policy. "This partnership is not only relevant for the attainment of India's national, regional and global aspirations, it is also an important contributor to peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world," he said during an interaction with the Japanese media ahead of his visit to that country.
Modi said: "As I have said in the recent past to visiting American dignitaries, we should not look at the relationship merely in terms of what India and the US can do for each other, but more importantly, what India and the US can do together, for the world." "As the largest and oldest democracies in the world, there is also a convergence of values, which also means that it is natural for India and the US to want to partner more closely with traditional friends who share such values, such as Japan," he said. Modi is scheduled to visit the US in September.