Thaindian News

Agartala, Oct 25 (IANS) The US is not willing to improve its relations with China or other countries at the cost of India-America relationship, US Consul General Dean R. Thompson said here Tuesday.

“The US administration has been trying with all sincerity to further improve its relations with India in a variety of sectors,” he said.

“The US is keen to further extend collaborative programme in education and developmental sectors with India, specially with higher educational institutions,” Thompson said while addressing Tripura University students on “Indo-US relations”.

Besides education and developmental sectors, strategic issues, energy, climate change and environment, business, trade and economy and science and technology were the other sectors of India-US collaboration that needed to be further broadened, he said.

After visiting Assam and Meghalaya, the Kolkata-based consul general is on a three-day visit to Tripura.

In Agartala, Thompson, who worked in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Paraguay, met Tripura Governor D.Y. Patil, officials and business leaders and visited the India-Bangladesh border to inspect the trade points.

“The US has now been issuing more visas to Indians than citizens of other countries,” Thompson said.

Tripura University Vice chancellor Arunoday Saha said that students of northeast universities and educational institutions would benefit if the US faculties and academicians visited the region.

The consul general and his wife Jane also visited some self-help groups in the tribal-dominated Rajghatpara village, 30 km from here.