US Senator John Cornyn congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday as he became India’s longest-serving prime minister.
Cornyn, who belongs to the Republican Party led by US President Donald Trump, said that relations between Washington and Delhi were stronger during the era of Prime Minister Modi, and that the Prime Minister earned his leadership through the trust of 1.4 billion people across three democratic states.
“From lifting 250 million people out of poverty to making India the world’s fastest-growing major economy, Prime Minister Modi’s tenure has been nothing short of transformative. The US-India partnership has never been stronger,” Cornyn wrote in a post on X.
A huge achievement for Prime Minister Modi
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi completed a major milestone – 4,399 days in office, becoming the longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister with 12 years and counting. Before him, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and its first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi served long terms in office. While Indira Gandhi’s term was close to 16 years, it was not consecutive.
Regarding this major achievement, members of the National Democratic Alliance are scheduled to congratulate Prime Minister Modi for his leadership at the meeting that he will chair today.
The past 12 years have seen the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party make great strides in India. When the party won and formed a government after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, its membership in the state was just seven, but it has now risen to 21.
The party was able to turn the tide in key states such as West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
Trump ‘likes Prime Minister Modi very much’
The Trump camp senator’s praise of Prime Minister Modi comes at a time when India and the United States are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement. The two countries, which saw their economic partnership strained by Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports last year, have seen a major shift in relations.
Trump recently highlighted this reversal in dynamics, when he said that India and the US were close to reaching a trade deal. “We will come to an agreement because I love your prime minister [Narendra Modi] a lot. He’s a good friend of mine, and we get along well. “We have a good relationship,” Trump said last week.
A four-day visit by United States Trade Representative (USTR) officials from June 1-4 helped move trade discussions forward, according to a government statement.
Officials from both sides held talks on a range of issues, including market access, non-tariff barriers, customs procedures, trade facilitation measures and economic security cooperation.
