India linchpin in US strategy in Asia-Pacific: Clinton

Writing in the latest edition of the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine, Clinton noted that her boss, President Barack Obama, had told the Indian Parliament last year that the Indo-US relationship will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, rooted in common values and interests. However, she observed that "there are still obstacles to overcome and questions to answer on both sides, but the United States is making a strategic bet on India`s future -- that India`s greater role on the world stage will enhance peace and security."

She also was confident that opening India`s markets to the world will pave the way for greater regional and global prosperity and that Indian advances in science and technology will improve lives and augment human knowledge everywhere. Further, India`s vibrant, pluralistic democracy will produce "measurable results and improvements for its citizens and inspire others to follow a similar path of openness and tolerance."

"So the Obama administration has expanded our bilateral partnership; actively supported India`s Look East efforts, including through a new trilateral dialogue with India and Japan; and outlined a new vision for a more economically integrated and politically stable South and Central Asia, with India as a linchpin," Clinton wrote, effusively.