US, India to work closely to deepen ties after PM Modi's visit: Official

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden state visit to the US was "very successful" and the Biden administration will continue to work closely with partners in India to deepen and strengthen this "very important" bilateral relationship, a senior American official has said.

Prime Minister Modi visited the US from June 20-24 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. The high-profile visit was marked by several major deals to boost cooperation in key areas like defence, space and trade.

Modi was accorded a red-carpet welcome at the White House by President Biden.

The two leaders held a historic summit on June 22, followed by Modi's address to the Congress and a state dinner hosted at the White House by the Bidens in his honour.

"This is not about just a moment in time. What this is about is steps and efforts to deepen and strengthen our relationship and our partnership with India. And we believe that last week's visit was very successful," Vedant Patel, the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State said in response to questions at a briefing on Wednesday.

"There were a number of announcements made between our two countries, including steps to strengthen semiconductor supply chains. You also saw the President and the Prime Minister and our two countries speak about engine co-production as well as university research partnerships," Patel said.

"So this is not about where we go from here... We will continue to work closely with our partners in India to continue to deepen, and strengthen this very important bilateral relationship," Patel said.

Responding to a question on human rights in India, Patel said that Secretary Antony Blinken has said it before, for the United States, human rights are always on the agenda."

"And as it relates to our engagements with senior officials from any government, we continue to engage directly on the issues of human rights, and this is also something that you saw President Biden speak to directly in the press conference that he had during the state visit as well," the Indian-American spokesperson said.