In an interview, Blake said ‘Afghanistan and Pakistan is a strategic priority’ because of militancy that threatened to destabilize both the countries.’ But I do not want to imply that that would come at the expense of India. India would continue to be also a strategic priority for the United States. And I think that will come out very clearly during Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton’s visit to New Delhi later this month’.

The American official held the view that India needed not be concerned about the US assistance to Pakistan. ‘The new focus in terms of our relationship with Pakistan is to dramatically increase economic assistance to Pakistan to help that country overcome some of its economic challenges and to extend the writ of the government. All of those things should be very much in India’s interest as well’, he reasoned.

Blake hoped that US and India would sign an end-user agreement for selling sensitive defence equipment to New Delhi marking the visit of Secretary Clinton. ‘We have been narrowing our differences and I hope that we will reach an agreement very soon on that’.

‘The agreement, the Assistant Secretary of State said, would be of benefit to both sides. ‘It an important way for us to increase our defence exports to India, and also to share more technology with India’.