‘Great things’ for USIndia ties: Trump

US President Donald Trump has said that he sees “great things” for India-US relations with the massive electoral victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections.

Congratulating Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on their “BIG election victory”, Trump said in a tweet on May 23 that he looked “forward to continuing our important work together”.

“Great things are in store for the USIndia partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm,” he added.

His daughter Ivanka also tweeted a personal message of congratulations to Modi.

The Indian parliamentary election is “an inspiration to democracies and individuals around the world”, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.

“We applaud the Indian people for turning out to vote in historic numbers and the government of India for their exceptional execution of this massive undertaking,” she said in a statement.

“India’s elections are the largest exercise in democracy in human history ..... We’re confident in the fairness and the integrity of the Indian elections.”

Looking ahead to Modi’s second term, Ortagus said that Washington was confident that the relations between the two countries, which are centred around the US Indo-Pacific strategy, will continue on a strong “upward trajectory”.

“We look forward to working with the newly elected government on a range of important issues, including expanding economic and energy ties, enhancing defence and security cooperation, countering the threat of terrorism, and enhanced collaboration in space,” she said.

“We are confident that the strong and upward trajectory of our partnership will continue. The United States and India enjoy a strong strategic partnership that stands on a foundation of shared values, extensive people-topeople ties and a commitment to a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” she added.