“The bottom line is, in my view, this (US-India) is the most important relationship of the 21st century. This will determine whether this is a century of light or a century of darkness,” he said.
In his video message to the summit, which he could not attend due to his engagements in the election, Waltz encouraged further collaboration to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific and protect India’s sovereignty, particularly along the Line of Control (LoC).
“Consider my office and my team an open door to further this relationship as we press forward, and keeping the Indo-Pacific free and open and protecting Indian sovereignty particularly on the Line of Control (LoC) and ensuring that the world that we leave behind for our children and grandchildren is in line with our shared values,” he said.
Waltz said he was excited about the tremendous momentum in the relationship between the oldest and the largest democracies in the world.
“Let’s keep the momentum (in the US-India relationship) going,” he said.
Waltz, who recently visited India in August with his co-chair, Congressman Ro Khanna, to participate in the Independence Day celebrations, reflected on the “incredible” address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Red Fort.
“It was an amazing event,” he said, adding that the growing momentum in US-India relations is also evident through initiatives like iCET and INDUS-X.
Waltz highlighted several areas of cooperation, from joint production of Apache helicopter fuselages by Boeing and Tata to advancements in ship repair, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and data management — all crucial as both nations advance further into the 21st century.
