He said the US had 'independent' relations with India and Pakistan, even as he pointed out that Washington would not want to see the re-hypenation of the India-Pakistan relationship.

He said there was consensus in the US and India that it was not possible to contain China but it was possible to engage with it.

He described the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement as a watershed, historically and symbolically, for the two nations. It marked a recognition by the US of India's rise as a global power and 'we hope to see the full implementation of the agreement which would lead to cooperation in other areas'.