India-US ties deeper with announcement of Air India-Boeing deal: US

WASHINGTON: The mega commercial plane deal between Air India and Boeing is an opportunity to deepen an already profoundly intertwined relationship between India and the United States, the US said Wednesday.

"It's an opportunity to deepen what is already a profoundly intertwined relationship based on shared interests, based on shared values, based on our deep economic ties. And with the announcements between Boeing and Air India yesterday, those ties are all the deeper," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference.

The "landmark" Air India-Boeing deal, according to US President Joe Biden, will create up to 1 million jobs across 44 states in the US.

"It is something that we've heralded. It is an opportunity not only for the American economy and for workers here in this country, but it's an opportunity for the Indian people as well," Price said in response to a question, a day after the historic airplane deal between the two countries.

"The United States is engaged around the world – not just in India but around the world – in what we refer to as commercial diplomacy, seeking to find concrete, tangible, practical ways to deepen our economic ties with countries around the world in a way that benefits the American people back here at home," he said.

"I think the agreement that was announced yesterday between Boeing and Air India is a vivid example of that – the number of jobs it creates here, the number of opportunities it creates in India, and the possibility it provides to deepen that partnership even further," Price said.

On Tuesday, Air India announced its agreement to purchase 190 Boeing 737 MAXs, 20 Boeing 787s, and 10 Boeing 777Xs – a total of 220 firm orders valued at a list price of $34 billion which will support more than one million American jobs across 44 states, many of which will not require a four-year college degree.

"I'm very happy to learn of this new piece of the robust US-India economic partnership. Strengthening the ties that bind our nations, the world's oldest democracy and its largest, will support American jobs while bringing greater security and prosperity to both our citizens and the wider world," Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said in a separate statement.

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