New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) India will play a critical role in resolving global challenges, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, adding that India-US relations were important not just for the two countries but for the whole world.
Speaking at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, he also said that the goal of America's foreign policy is "world peace".
"Rising India will play a very critical role in resolving global challenges," Kerry said adding that the challenges included extremism, terrorism, extreme poverty, uneven and unsustainable growth, among others.
Recalling India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Kerry mentioned his first letter to the US Congress which said India has historically been a peaceful nation and every prayer by Indians ended by invoking peace.
"I can assure you primary goal of America's foreign policy is world peace," he said, but however underlined that the challenges in this century are different from that of last century, mentioning the "non-state" attackers.
"In this 21st century, conflict is described by non-state actors. With the global system no longer divided between east and west and north and south, leading nations cannot just ignore threats beyond our borders. In the interconnected world we live in today, dangers that are somewhere else are not far away," Kerry said.
He said the enhanced cooperation between India and US was to fight these non-state attackers, for which US is helping India in modernisation of its defence, as well as in joint training.
He also mentioned the military logistic sharing agreement signed by India and US on Monday.
He added that US will also expand its cooperation with 'nearby states' like Japan to ensure "entire region remains stable and secure.
"We have learnt the hard way, threats that we face today are not traditional threats. We have adversaries who have no air force, no navy, they don't wear uniforms but they are deadly nonetheless.
"Chief among them are terrorist organisations such as Daesh (the IS), Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad."
