US seeking to 'expand and deepen' ties with India

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration has said it is seeking to "expand and deepen" its relations with India, and its efforts has started seeing some results. "As you know, we've sought to expand and deepen our ties with India. And that covers a lot of different areas, from energy to transportation to diplomatic contacts ... to the arena of public diplomacy," State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"So it's an overall effort by our government, as well as the Indian government, to expand and deepen our relationship. It's been part of the strategy outlined by President (George) Bush early on in his administration. And we're starting to see some of the results of those efforts right now," he added.

Answering questions to an unrelated subject, McCormack said he was not aware of any "angry phone calls" the American Embassy in New Delhi may have received in the wake the controversy involving American actor Richard Gere, who kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty during an HIV-AIDS awareness event in the Indian capital.

"I don't know. I really don't know," the Spokesman said.