Washington, D.C., USA: US Congressman Rich McCormick has called for a deeper strategic relationship between India and the United States, saying the partnership between the two countries should be given the highest priority.

The Georgia representative made the remarks after he and eight other US lawmakers met with a delegation from the US-India Relationship Council (USIRC) on Capitol Hill last week. The meeting focused on ways to further strengthen strategic ties between Washington and New Delhi.

Highlighting the shared values and economic potential of both countries, McCormick said the United States and India have natural areas of cooperation that go well beyond traditional diplomatic relations.

“When you think about the first and soon to be the third largest economies in the world, combining forces with very similar constitutions, with very similar world outlooks, with very similar people when it comes to what's important, the family values, the value of an economy, of wealth creation, of building jobs and prosperity for all people,” he said.

McCormick said the relationship should move beyond friendly diplomatic ties toward a full-fledged strategic partnership.

“When you think about the future of this world, when you think about military might and relationships, there should be no other more prioritized relationship than India and the United States,” he said.

“We need to make sure that we're not just friends, but allies into the future,” McCormick added.

The other eight lawmakers who met with the USIRC delegation were Jonathan Jackson, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Young Kim, Derek Tran, Scott Peters, Jimmy Panetta, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Suhas Subramanyam.

The US-India Relationship Council is a bipartisan advocacy group that promotes pro-India policies in the US Congress and the executive branch.