Washington, May 19 US Republican Senator Steve Daines described India as one of America’s most important geopolitical partners and stressed that trust between the two democracies would be critical for the future of the relationship.
Addressing the Capitol Hill Summit 2026 organised by the US-India Friendship Council, Daines said the United States and India shared strategic interests that extended far beyond trade and diplomacy.
“We didn’t need this kind of friction, in my opinion, with one of the geopolitically most important relations we have, and that’s between the United States and India,” Daines said.
The senator from Montana, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke at length about the importance of trust in international partnerships, citing former US Secretary of State George Shultz.
“George Shultz once said, when trust was in the room, good things happened. When trust was not in the room, good things did not happen,” Daines said. “Everything else is details.”
Drawing on his experience working in Asia for Procter & Gamble before entering politics, Daines contrasted his visits to China and India to underline the deeper confidence Washington places in New Delhi.
“When I go to China, this phone stays on my desk in Washington,” he said, holding up his mobile phone. “When I go to India, this phone goes with me.”
Daines said he recently travelled to India with Ambassador Sergio Gor and praised the envoy’s enthusiasm for strengthening bilateral ties.
“You’ve got a really special ambassador here because he’s excited about India,” Daines said. “He sees all the opportunities there.”
The senator also referred to recent tensions in the relationship, including trade disagreements, but said both governments had worked to manage those issues.
“I heard directly from our Indian partners and friends, both at the government level and in the business community, about this impasse that we had,” Daines said. “We worked it diligently.”
He described India as a rising global economic and strategic power whose partnership with the United States could help balance China’s growing influence.
“It’s the largest democracy in the world,” Daines said. “With partnership with the United States, we can put together a STEM ecosystem in terms of sheer human capital that can rival the size of the STEM ecosystem in China.”
Daines also spoke personally about the role Indian Americans have played in American society, recalling that an Indian-origin doctor at MD Anderson Cancer Center had saved his father’s life.
“Some of our very best minds are here in the United States in the healthcare profession,” he said. “I’m just grateful for that personally.”
The senator praised the growing Indian American community and said he viewed India as indispensable to America’s long-term economic and geopolitical strategy.
“I love the country of India and the people,” Daines said. “It’s not my last trip to India.”
The summit brought together lawmakers, diplomats, business leaders and policy experts amid renewed debate over trade, visas and strategic cooperation between Washington and New Delhi.
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