Washington, Feb 21 (PTI) A strong India-US relationship is a must for democracy, advancement in technology and a robust world economy, a top American senator has said, emphasising that close bilateral ties will be a crucial counterweight to outcompete China.

Describing India as one of the 'leading powers' of the world, Senator Chuck Schumer said close India-US ties would also be key to responding to China's authoritarianism.

The Senate Majority Leader is leading a high-powered Congressional delegation of senators to India. The delegation, led by Schumer, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday.

They discussed new opportunities for consolidating the India-US ties in critical technologies, clean energy transition, joint development and production, and trusted and resilient supply chains.

The prime minister welcomed the Congressional delegation to India and appreciated the consistent and bipartisan support of the US Congress for deepening India-US bilateral ties, his office said in a statement.

“We need nations such as India, the world’s largest democracy, to work with us to strengthen democracies in Asia and around the globe,' Shumer said in a statement issued here on Monday following his hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi.

'In our meeting with Prime Minister Modi, we stressed that close ties between our two countries would be a crucial counterweight to outcompete China and respond to its authoritarianism,” he said.

India is one of the 'leading powers' of the world and a strong US-India relationship is a must for democracy, technology advancement, and a strong world economy, he said.

“I made India my first Congressional Member Delegation (CODEL) as Majority Leader to show my commitment to the important US-India relationship,” he said in the statement.

Other members of the delegation are Senators Ron Wyden, Jack Reed, Maria Cantwell, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, Gary Peters, Catherine Cortez-Masto, and Peter Welch.

All are from the ruling Democratic Party.

“I am proud that the senators in our delegation are strong representatives of America’s commitment to the US-Indian economic and security partnership,” he said. Schumer said, in his meeting with Modi, they discussed the growing US-India relationship and the common interests that unite the two largest democracies in the world.

“It was a substantive and productive conversation about strengthening ties on our shared strategic interests including outcompeting China, combating climate change, increasing trade, and deepening bonds between our two countries,” he said.

“We stressed that close cooperation between the US and India in areas such as AI, green hydrogen, and advanced tech manufacturing will give our two countries the advantage for decades to come. I strongly believe the continued and strengthened US-India relationship will be the great story that will define the 21st century,” he said.

All the senators expressed their commitment to continue working with the Indian government to deepen the bilateral relationship to advance their mutual interest, he added.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)