Story highlights Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Barack Obama on Tuesday

John McCain: U.S. needs to treat India the same as it does its close partners and allies

John McCain, a Republican, is the senior senator from Arizona. The views expressed are his own.

(CNN) This week's visit to Washington by Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, a visit that includes an address to a joint session of Congress and meetings with senior congressional leaders, underscores just how important our relationship with India has become -- and how critical it is that we set the foundation correctly for the years to come.

It is remarkable how much bipartisan support the U.S.-India relationship enjoys on Capitol Hill, an upsurge of interest and respect that is normally reserved only for close partners and allies. In all my years in Congress, I recall only a select few countries that rose so quickly to such an exalted esteem.

To be sure, the U.S.-India relationship is broad-based, relying on hundreds of officials and business leaders in both countries, and affecting the lives of millions of people who are reaping the benefits of a close and open partnership. For all of its foreign policy shortcomings, the Obama administration has done an admirable job of nurturing this relationship and seizing the opportunities that India is providing. As just one example, India is now one of the fastest growing sources of foreign investment in the United States , with Indian companies investing in American entrepreneurship, creating jobs and leading in corporate social responsibility.

John McCain

At the same time, as I have watched the partnership develop over the past several years, it is remarkable how much progress we have made on defense and security issues. From joint exercises to joint technology development, and from defense sales to defense strategy, our security interactions and cooperation are increasingly becoming the backbone of our global strategic partnership.

A quarter-century ago, this would have been hard to imagine. As our two countries emerged from opposite sides of the Cold War, suspicion was high and distrust even higher. Back then, we could not agree on trading mangos or Coke, let alone trading fighter jets and attack helicopters. Prospects at that time for our defense relationship were bleak to the point of nonexistent -- so much so that we could not even contemplate activities like co-production and coordinated patrols. But in the intervening years, the world changed, and with it, so did our two countries. Remarkably, both sides are now keenly working to make such activities a reality.

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