New Delhi, Aug 18 - India's rise as a global power is a positive development for the US as well as the rest of the world, former American diplomat Nicholas Burns said here Tuesday.

Speaking at a function organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), Burns said there was a 'consensus in the US that the rise of India is positive for America and the rest of the world', and this was a crucial pointer that 'this relationship would mature in the years ahead'.

He said deepening the India-US relationship hinges to a great degree on maintaining 'a sense of trust' and respecting each other's views on trade and investment ties.

Burns, who left the State Department as the third highest senior diplomat, was the US's main interlocutor on the India-US civil nuclear deal.

Burns is in India to build an India programme at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he is now a professor in practice of diplomacy and international politics.