In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama’s policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.
“I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi’s leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length on Friday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas,” Ryan said.
He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after PM Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.
Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan’s speakership.
On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the PM’s address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader. A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.
“I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That’s one thing that we need to nurture and grow,” Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.