US lawmaker praises India's role in Afghanistan

Washington, April 19 (IANS) A key US lawmaker has welcomed India's positive contribution to Afghanistan's reconstruction saying US-India partnership has an important role in contributing to the war torn nation's progress and wellbeing.

The House Foreign Relations Committee's Republican chairperson, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen commended India's role in Afghanistan during a meeting Monday with the Indian ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao as they discussed the regional situation in India's neighbourhood.

Ros-Lehtinen, who is senior-most House Republican woman in the US Congress, spoke of shared values and complementarities between India and the US and the broad spectrum of opportunities, including in the economic sector, for the two countries to collaborate, according to the Indian embassy.

Discussing the current state of India-US relations, and the global strategic partnership between the two countries, Rao briefed the US lawmaker on India's perspective on regional and global issues of common interest.

She also gave an overview of trade and business ties between India and the US and the bright prospects for business and economic cooperation that existed in the partnership.

Rao expressed her deep appreciation of the commitment expressed within the US Congress to build a stronger and even more substantive US-India relationship, the embassy said.