The relationship between the US and India runs a lot deeper and goes beyond the friendship between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a US consular official said on Sunday.
"I think that there is no doubt that the personal relationship that exists between the president and the prime minister of these nations has helped the partnership, but it goes beyond that," US Consul General in Mumbai Thomas Vajda said at a press conference here ahead of the DefExpo 2016, which will be inaugurated in South Goa on Monday.
Vajda said there was tremendous interest in the US about India spanning a wide range of areas including education, culture and trade.
"It really is, I think, a confluence of interests between the US and India and a confluence of values between two democracies, the world's oldest and the world's largest.
"So certainly it helps that there is a close relationship between the leaders, but its not exclusively dependent on it. The relationship goes much deeper," Vajda said.